Method and apparatus for beam management for multi-stream transmission

ABSTRACT

A method of a user equipment (UE) for a beam indication in a wireless communication system is provided. The method comprises receiving, from multiple transmission reception points (TRPs), downlink data transmissions, receiving downlink control information (DCI) that includes a beam indication configuration comprising a one bit-field that indicates multiple transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states, wherein each of the multiple TCI states indicates a quasi-colocation (QCL) configuration for downlink data channels received from the TRPs, determining indices of the multiple TCI states based on the received one bit-field included in the DCI, deriving an association between the multiple TCI states indicated by the one bit-field and a downlink data transmission of each of the TRPs, and receiving, the downlink data transmission from each of the TRPs with the QCL configuration indicated by the derived association.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present application claims priority to:

-   -   U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/647,258, filed        on Mar. 23, 2018;    -   U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/649,186, filed        on Mar. 28, 2018;    -   U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/670,281, filed        on May 11, 2018;    -   U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/681,780 filed on        Jun. 7, 2018;    -   U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/686,388, filed        on Jun. 18, 2018;    -   U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/687,567, filed        on Jun. 20, 2018;    -   U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/715,029, filed        on Aug. 6, 2018; and    -   U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/730,867 filed on        Sep. 13, 2018.        The content of the above-identified patent documents is        incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to beam management.Specifically, the present disclosure relates to beam management formulti-stream transmission in an advanced wireless communication system.

BACKGROUND

In a wireless communication network, a network access and a radioresource management (RRM) are enabled by physical layer synchronizationsignals and higher (MAC) layer procedures. In particular, a userequipment (UE) attempts to detect the presence of synchronizationsignals along with at least one cell identification (ID) for initialaccess. Once the UE is in the network and associated with a servingcell, the UE monitors several neighboring cells by attempting to detecttheir synchronization signals and/or measuring the associatedcell-specific reference signals (RSs). For next generation cellularsystems such as third generation partnership-new radio access orinterface (3GPP-NR), efficient and unified radio resource acquisition ortracking mechanism which works for various use cases such as enhancedmobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC), massivemachine type communication (mMTC), each corresponding to a differentcoverage requirement and frequency bands with different propagationlosses is desirable.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods and apparatusesfor beam management for multi-stream transmission in an advancedwireless communication system.

In one embodiment, a user equipment (UE), a user equipment (UE) for abeam indication in a wireless communication system is provided. The UEcomprises a transceiver configured to receive, from multipletransmission reception points (TRPs), downlink data transmissions, andreceive downlink control information (DCI) that includes a beamindication configuration comprising a one bit-field that indicatesmultiple transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states, wherein themultiple TCI states indicate a quasi-colocation (QCL) configuration fordownlink data channels received from the TRPs. The UE further comprisesa processor operably connected to the transceiver, the processorconfigured to determine indices of the multiple TCI states based on thereceived one bit-field included in the DCI, and derive an associationbetween the multiple TCI states indicated by the one bit-field and adownlink data transmission of each of the TRPs. The UE further comprisesthe transceiver configured to receive, the downlink data transmissionfrom each of the TRPs with the QCL configuration indicated by thederived association.

In another embodiment, a transmission reception point (TRP), for a beamindication in a wireless communication system is provided. The TRPcomprises a processor configured to determine indices of multipletransmission configuration indicator (TCI) states based on a onebit-field to be transmitted to a user equipment (UE), wherein the onebit-field is included in downlink control information (DCI) and atransceiver operably connected to the processor, the transceiver isconfigured to transmit, to the UE, a downlink data transmission,transmit the DCI that includes a beam indication configurationcomprising the one bit-field that indicates the multiple TCI states,wherein the multiple TCI states indicate a quasi-colocation (QCL)configuration for a downlink data channel transmitted to the UE, andtransmit, to the UE, the downlink data transmission with the QCLconfiguration, wherein an association between the multiple TCI statesindicated by the one bit-field and the downlink data transmission fromthe TRP is derived by the UE.

In yet another embodiment, a method of a user equipment (UE) for a beamindication in a wireless communication system is provided. The methodcomprises receiving, from multiple transmission reception points (TRPs),downlink data transmissions, receiving downlink control information(DCI) that includes a beam indication configuration comprising a onebit-field that indicates multiple transmission configuration indicator(TCI) states, wherein the multiple TCI states indicate aquasi-colocation (QCL) configuration for downlink data channels receivedfrom the TRPs, determining indices of the multiple TCI states based onthe received one bit-field included in the DCI, deriving an associationbetween the multiple TCI states indicated by the one bit-field and adownlink data transmission of each of the TRPs, and receiving, thedownlink data transmission from each of the TRPs with the QCLconfiguration indicated by the derived association.

Other technical features may be readily apparent to one skilled in theart from the following figures, descriptions, and claims.

Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it may beadvantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases usedthroughout this patent document. The term “couple” and its derivativesrefer to any direct or indirect communication between two or moreelements, whether or not those elements are in physical contact with oneanother. The terms “transmit,” “receive,” and “communicate,” as well asderivatives thereof, encompass both direct and indirect communication.The terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, meaninclusion without limitation. The term “or” is inclusive, meaningand/or. The phrase “associated with,” as well as derivatives thereof,means to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, becontained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicablewith, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be boundto or with, have, have a property of, have a relationship to or with, orthe like. The term “controller” means any device, system or part thereofthat controls at least one operation. Such a controller may beimplemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and software and/orfirmware. The functionality associated with any particular controllermay be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. Thephrase “at least one of,” when used with a list of items, means thatdifferent combinations of one or more of the listed items may be used,and only one item in the list may be needed. For example, “at least oneof: A, B, and C” includes any of the following combinations: A, B, C, Aand B, A and C, B and C, and A and B and C.

Moreover, various functions described below can be implemented orsupported by one or more computer programs, each of which is formed fromcomputer readable program code and embodied in a computer readablemedium. The terms “application” and “program” refer to one or morecomputer programs, software components, sets of instructions,procedures, functions, objects, classes, instances, related data, or aportion thereof adapted for implementation in a suitable computerreadable program code. The phrase “computer readable program code”includes any type of computer code, including source code, object code,and executable code. The phrase “computer readable medium” includes anytype of medium capable of being accessed by a computer, such as readonly memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a hard disk drive, acompact disc (CD), a digital video disc (DVD), or any other type ofmemory. A “non-transitory” computer readable medium excludes wired,wireless, optical, or other communication links that transporttransitory electrical or other signals. A non-transitory computerreadable medium includes media where data can be permanently stored andmedia where data can be stored and later overwritten, such as arewritable optical disc or an erasable memory device.

Definitions for other certain words and phrases are provided throughoutthis patent document. Those of ordinary skill in the art shouldunderstand that in many if not most instances, such definitions apply toprior as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and itsadvantages, reference is now made to the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencenumerals represent like parts:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network according to embodimentsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example gNB according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example UE according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4A illustrates a high-level diagram of an orthogonal frequencydivision multiple access transmit path according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 4B illustrates a high-level diagram of an orthogonal frequencydivision multiple access receive path according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a transmitter block diagram for a PDSCH in a subframeaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a receiver block diagram for a PDSCH in a subframeaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a transmitter block diagram for a PUSCH in a subframeaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates a receiver block diagram for a PUSCH in a subframeaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates an example multiplexing of two slices according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates an example antenna blocks according to embodimentsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 illustrates an example multi-beam system according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 illustrates an example transmission for multiple TRPs accordingto embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 illustrates an example multi-beam transmission to a UE accordingto embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14A illustrates an example control resource set according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14B illustrates another example control resource set according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 illustrates an example beam indication according to embodimentsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 illustrates another example beam indication according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 illustrates an example two transmit panels according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 18A illustrates an example RF chain according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 18B illustrates another example RF chain according to embodimentsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 18C illustrates yet another example RF chain according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19 illustrates an example multi-beam operation scenario accordingto embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 20 illustrates another example multi-beam operation scenarioaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 21 illustrates yet another example multi-beam operation scenarioaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 22 illustrates an example multiple data streams from multiple TRPsaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 23A illustrates an example measurement for multiple-TRPs accordingto embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 23B illustrates another example measurement for multiple-TRPsaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 24 illustrates an example measurement for multiple-TRPs accordingto embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 25 illustrates a flowchart of a method for beam managementaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 26 illustrates another flowchart of a method for beam managementaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 through FIG. 26, discussed below, and the various embodimentsused to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patentdocument are by way of illustration only and should not be construed inany way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the artwill understand that the principles of the present disclosure may beimplemented in any suitably arranged system or device.

The following documents and standards descriptions are herebyincorporated by reference into the present disclosure as if fully setforth herein: 3GPP TS 36.211 v14.0.0, “E-UTRA, Physical channels andmodulation;” 3GPP TS 36.212 v14.0.0, “E-UTRA, Multiplexing and Channelcoding;” 3GPP TS 36.213 v14.0.0, “E-UTRA, Physical Layer Procedures;”3GPP TS 36.321 v14.0.0, “E-UTRA, Medium Access Control (MAC) protocolspecification;” 3GPP TS 36.331 v14.0.0, “E-UTRA, Radio Resource Control(RRC) Protocol Specification;” 3GPP TS 38.211 v15.0.0, “NR, Physicalchannels and modulation;” 3GPP TS 38.212 v15.0.0, “NR, Multiplexing andChannel coding;” 3GPP TS 38.213 v15.0.0, “NR, Physical Layer Proceduresfor Control;” 3GPP TS 38.214 v15.0.0, “NR, Physical Layer Procedures ForData;” 3GPP TS 38.321 v15.0.0, “NR, Medium Access Control (MAC) protocolspecification;” and 3GPP TS 38.331 v15.0.0, “NR, Radio Resource Control(RRC) Protocol Specification.”

Aspects, features, and advantages of the disclosure are readily apparentfrom the following detailed description, simply by illustrating a numberof particular embodiments and implementations, including the best modecontemplated for carrying out the disclosure. The disclosure is alsocapable of other and different embodiments, and its several details canbe modified in various obvious respects, all without departing from thespirit and scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the drawings anddescription are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not asrestrictive. The disclosure is illustrated by way of example, and not byway of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings.

In the following, for brevity, both FDD and TDD are considered as theduplex method for both DL and UL signaling.

Although exemplary descriptions and embodiments to follow assumeorthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or orthogonalfrequency division multiple access (OFDMA), this disclosure can beextended to other OFDM-based transmission waveforms or multiple accessschemes such as filtered OFDM (F-OFDM).

The present disclosure covers several components which can be used inconjunction or in combination with one another, or can operate asstandalone schemes.

To meet the demand for wireless data traffic having increased sincedeployment of 4G communication systems, efforts have been made todevelop an improved 5G or pre-5G communication system. Therefore, the 5Gor pre-5G communication system is also called a “beyond 4G network” or a“post LTE system.”

The 5G communication system is considered to be implemented in higherfrequency (mmWave) bands, e.g., 60 GHz bands, so as to accomplish higherdata rates. To decrease propagation loss of the radio waves and increasethe transmission coverage, the beamforming, massive multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna,an analog beam forming, large scale antenna techniques and the like arediscussed in 5G communication systems.

In addition, in 5G communication systems, development for system networkimprovement is under way based on advanced small cells, cloud radioaccess networks (RANs), ultra-dense networks, device-to-device (D2D)communication, wireless backhaul communication, moving network,cooperative communication, coordinated multi-points (CoMP) transmissionand reception, interference mitigation and cancellation and the like.

In the 5G system, hybrid frequency shift keying and quadrature amplitudemodulation (FQAM) and sliding window superposition coding (SWSC) as anadaptive modulation and coding (AMC) technique, and filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA), and sparse codemultiple access (SCMA) as an advanced access technology have beendeveloped.

FIGS. 1-4B below describe various embodiments implemented in wirelesscommunications systems and with the use of orthogonal frequency divisionmultiplexing (OFDM) or orthogonal frequency division multiple access(OFDMA) communication techniques. The descriptions of FIGS. 1-3 are notmeant to imply physical or architectural limitations to the manner inwhich different embodiments may be implemented. Different embodiments ofthe present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably-arrangedcommunications system.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network according to embodimentsof the present disclosure. The embodiment of the wireless network shownin FIG. 1 is for illustration only. Other embodiments of the wirelessnetwork 100 could be used without departing from the scope of thisdisclosure.

As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless network includes an gNB 101, an gNB102, and an gNB 103. The gNB 101 communicates with the gNB 102 and thegNB 103. The gNB 101 also communicates with at least one network 130,such as the Internet, a proprietary Internet Protocol (IP) network, orother data network.

The gNB 102 provides wireless broadband access to the network 130 for afirst plurality of user equipments (UEs) within a coverage area 120 ofthe gNB 102. The first plurality of UEs includes a UE 111, which may belocated in a small business (SB); a UE 112, which may be located in anenterprise (E); a UE 113, which may be located in a WiFi hotspot (HS); aUE 114, which may be located in a first residence (R); a UE 115, whichmay be located in a second residence (R); and a UE 116, which may be amobile device (M), such as a cell phone, a wireless laptop, a wirelessPDA, or the like. The gNB 103 provides wireless broadband access to thenetwork 130 for a second plurality of UEs within a coverage area 125 ofthe gNB 103. The second plurality of UEs includes the UE 115 and the UE116. In some embodiments, one or more of the gNBs 101-103 maycommunicate with each other and with the UEs 111-116 using 5G, LTE,LTE-A, WiMAX, WiFi, or other wireless communication techniques.

Depending on the network type, the term “base station” or “BS” can referto any component (or collection of components) configured to providewireless access to a network, such as transmit point (TP),transmit-receive point (TRP), an enhanced base station (eNodeB or eNB),a 5G base station (gNB), a macrocell, a femtocell, a WiFi access point(AP), or other wirelessly enabled devices. Base stations may providewireless access in accordance with one or more wireless communicationprotocols, e.g., 5G 3GPP new radio interface/access (NR), long termevolution (LTE), LTE advanced (LTE-A), high speed packet access (HSPA),Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, etc. For the sake of convenience, the terms “BS”and “TRP” are used interchangeably in this patent document to refer tonetwork infrastructure components that provide wireless access to remoteterminals. Also, depending on the network type, the term “userequipment” or “UE” can refer to any component such as “mobile station,”“subscriber station,” “remote terminal,” “wireless terminal,” “receivepoint,” or “user device.” For the sake of convenience, the terms “userequipment” and “UE” are used in this patent document to refer to remotewireless equipment that wirelessly accesses a BS, whether the UE is amobile device (such as a mobile telephone or smartphone) or is normallyconsidered a stationary device (such as a desktop computer or vendingmachine).

Dotted lines show the approximate extents of the coverage areas 120 and125, which are shown as approximately circular for the purposes ofillustration and explanation only. It should be clearly understood thatthe coverage areas associated with gNBs, such as the coverage areas 120and 125, may have other shapes, including irregular shapes, dependingupon the configuration of the gNBs and variations in the radioenvironment associated with natural and man-made obstructions.

As described in more detail below, one or more of the UEs 111-116include circuitry, programming, or a combination thereof, for efficientbeam management in an advanced wireless communication system. In certainembodiments, and one or more of the gNBs 101-103 includes circuitry,programming, or a combination thereof, for CSI acquisition based onspace-frequency compression in an advanced wireless communicationsystem.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a wireless network, variouschanges may be made to FIG. 1. For example, the wireless network couldinclude any number of gNBs and any number of UEs in any suitablearrangement. Also, the gNB 101 could communicate directly with anynumber of UEs and provide those UEs with wireless broadband access tothe network 130. Similarly, each gNB 102-103 could communicate directlywith the network 130 and provide UEs with direct wireless broadbandaccess to the network 130. Further, the gNBs 101, 102, and/or 103 couldprovide access to other or additional external networks, such asexternal telephone networks or other types of data networks.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example gNB 102 according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The embodiment of the gNB 102 illustrated in FIG. 2is for illustration only, and the gNBs 101 and 103 of FIG. 1 could havethe same or similar configuration. However, gNBs come in a wide varietyof configurations, and FIG. 2 does not limit the scope of thisdisclosure to any particular implementation of an gNB.

As shown in FIG. 2, the gNB 102 includes multiple antennas 205 a-205 n,multiple RF transceivers 210 a-210 n, transmit (TX) processing circuitry215, and receive (RX) processing circuitry 220. The gNB 102 alsoincludes a controller/processor 225, a memory 230, and a backhaul ornetwork interface 235.

The RF transceivers 210 a-210 n receive, from the antennas 205 a-205 n,incoming RF signals, such as signals transmitted by UEs in the network100. The RF transceivers 210 a-210 n down-convert the incoming RFsignals to generate IF or baseband signals. The IF or baseband signalsare sent to the RX processing circuitry 220, which generates processedbaseband signals by filtering, decoding, and/or digitizing the basebandor IF signals. The RX processing circuitry 220 transmits the processedbaseband signals to the controller/processor 225 for further processing.

The TX processing circuitry 215 receives analog or digital data (such asvoice data, web data, e-mail, or interactive video game data) from thecontroller/processor 225. The TX processing circuitry 215 encodes,multiplexes, and/or digitizes the outgoing baseband data to generateprocessed baseband or IF signals. The RF transceivers 210 a-210 nreceive the outgoing processed baseband or IF signals from the TXprocessing circuitry 215 and up-converts the baseband or IF signals toRF signals that are transmitted via the antennas 205 a-205 n.

The controller/processor 225 can include one or more processors or otherprocessing devices that control the overall operation of the gNB 102.For example, the controller/processor 225 could control the reception offorward channel signals and the transmission of reverse channel signalsby the RF transceivers 210 a-210 n, the RX processing circuitry 220, andthe TX processing circuitry 215 in accordance with well-knownprinciples. The controller/processor 225 could support additionalfunctions as well, such as more advanced wireless communicationfunctions.

For instance, the controller/processor 225 could support beam forming ordirectional routing operations in which outgoing signals from multipleantennas 205 a-205 n are weighted differently to effectively steer theoutgoing signals in a desired direction. Any of a wide variety of otherfunctions could be supported in the gNB 102 by the controller/processor225.

The controller/processor 225 is also capable of executing programs andother processes resident in the memory 230, such as an OS. Thecontroller/processor 225 can move data into or out of the memory 230 asrequired by an executing process.

The controller/processor 225 is also coupled to the backhaul or networkinterface 235. The backhaul or network interface 235 allows the gNB 102to communicate with other devices or systems over a backhaul connectionor over a network. The interface 235 could support communications overany suitable wired or wireless connection(s). For example, when the gNB102 is implemented as part of a cellular communication system (such asone supporting 5G, LTE, or LTE-A), the interface 235 could allow the gNB102 to communicate with other gNBs over a wired or wireless backhaulconnection. When the gNB 102 is implemented as an access point, theinterface 235 could allow the gNB 102 to communicate over a wired orwireless local area network or over a wired or wireless connection to alarger network (such as the Internet). The interface 235 includes anysuitable structure supporting communications over a wired or wirelessconnection, such as an Ethernet or RF transceiver.

The memory 230 is coupled to the controller/processor 225. Part of thememory 230 could include a RAM, and another part of the memory 230 couldinclude a Flash memory or other ROM.

Although FIG. 2 illustrates one example of gNB 102, various changes maybe made to FIG. 2. For example, the gNB 102 could include any number ofeach component shown in FIG. 2. As a particular example, an access pointcould include a number of interfaces 235, and the controller/processor225 could support routing functions to route data between differentnetwork addresses. As another particular example, while shown asincluding a single instance of TX processing circuitry 215 and a singleinstance of RX processing circuitry 220, the gNB 102 could includemultiple instances of each (such as one per RF transceiver). Also,various components in FIG. 2 could be combined, further subdivided, oromitted and additional components could be added according to particularneeds.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example UE 116 according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The embodiment of the UE 116 illustrated in FIG. 3is for illustration only, and the UEs 111-115 of FIG. 1 could have thesame or similar configuration. However, UEs come in a wide variety ofconfigurations, and FIG. 3 does not limit the scope of this disclosureto any particular implementation of a UE.

As shown in FIG. 3, the UE 116 includes an antenna 305, a radiofrequency (RF) transceiver 310, TX processing circuitry 315, amicrophone 320, and receive (RX) processing circuitry 325. The UE 116also includes a speaker 330, a processor 340, an input/output (I/O)interface (IF) 345, a touchscreen 350, a display 355, and a memory 360.The memory 360 includes an operating system (OS) 361 and one or moreapplications 362.

The RF transceiver 310 receives, from the antenna 305, an incoming RFsignal transmitted by an gNB of the network 100. The RF transceiver 310down-converts the incoming RF signal to generate an intermediatefrequency (IF) or baseband signal. The IF or baseband signal is sent tothe RX processing circuitry 325, which generates a processed basebandsignal by filtering, decoding, and/or digitizing the baseband or IFsignal. The RX processing circuitry 325 transmits the processed basebandsignal to the speaker 330 (such as for voice data) or to the processor340 for further processing (such as for web browsing data).

The TX processing circuitry 315 receives analog or digital voice datafrom the microphone 320 or other outgoing baseband data (such as webdata, e-mail, or interactive video game data) from the processor 340.The TX processing circuitry 315 encodes, multiplexes, and/or digitizesthe outgoing baseband data to generate a processed baseband or IFsignal. The RF transceiver 310 receives the outgoing processed basebandor IF signal from the TX processing circuitry 315 and up-converts thebaseband or IF signal to an RF signal that is transmitted via theantenna 305.

The processor 340 can include one or more processors or other processingdevices and execute the OS 361 stored in the memory 360 in order tocontrol the overall operation of the UE 116. For example, the processor340 could control the reception of forward channel signals and thetransmission of reverse channel signals by the RF transceiver 310, theRX processing circuitry 325, and the TX processing circuitry 315 inaccordance with well-known principles. In some embodiments, theprocessor 340 includes at least one microprocessor or microcontroller.

The processor 340 is also capable of executing other processes andprograms resident in the memory 360, such as processes for CSI reportingon uplink channel. The processor 340 can move data into or out of thememory 360 as required by an executing process. In some embodiments, theprocessor 340 is configured to execute the applications 362 based on theOS 361 or in response to signals received from gNBs or an operator. Theprocessor 340 is also coupled to the I/O interface 345, which providesthe UE 116 with the ability to connect to other devices, such as laptopcomputers and handheld computers. The I/O interface 345 is thecommunication path between these accessories and the processor 340.

The processor 340 is also coupled to the touchscreen 350 and the display355. The operator of the UE 116 can use the touchscreen 350 to enterdata into the UE 116. The display 355 may be a liquid crystal display,light emitting diode display, or other display capable of rendering textand/or at least limited graphics, such as from web sites.

The memory 360 is coupled to the processor 340. Part of the memory 360could include a random access memory (RAM), and another part of thememory 360 could include a Flash memory or other read-only memory (ROM).

Although FIG. 3 illustrates one example of UE 116, various changes maybe made to FIG. 3. For example, various components in FIG. 3 could becombined, further subdivided, or omitted and additional components couldbe added according to particular needs. As a particular example, theprocessor 340 could be divided into multiple processors, such as one ormore central processing units (CPUs) and one or more graphics processingunits (GPUs). Also, while FIG. 3 illustrates the UE 116 configured as amobile telephone or smartphone, UEs could be configured to operate asother types of mobile or stationary devices.

FIG. 4A is a high-level diagram of transmit path circuitry. For example,the transmit path circuitry may be used for an orthogonal frequencydivision multiple access (OFDMA) communication. FIG. 4B is a high-leveldiagram of receive path circuitry. For example, the receive pathcircuitry may be used for an orthogonal frequency division multipleaccess (OFDMA) communication. In FIGS. 4A and 4B, for downlinkcommunication, the transmit path circuitry may be implemented in a basestation (gNB) 102 or a relay station, and the receive path circuitry maybe implemented in a user equipment (e.g. user equipment 116 of FIG. 1).In other examples, for uplink communication, the receive path circuitry450 may be implemented in a base station (e.g. gNB 102 of FIG. 1) or arelay station, and the transmit path circuitry may be implemented in auser equipment (e.g. user equipment 116 of FIG. 1).

Transmit path circuitry comprises channel coding and modulation block405, serial-to-parallel (S-to-P) block 410, Size N Inverse Fast FourierTransform (IFFT) block 415, parallel-to-serial (P-to-S) block 420, addcyclic prefix block 425, and up-converter (UC) 430. Receive pathcircuitry 450 comprises down-converter (DC) 455, remove cyclic prefixblock 460, serial-to-parallel (S-to-P) block 465, Size N Fast FourierTransform (FFT) block 470, parallel-to-serial (P-to-S) block 475, andchannel decoding and demodulation block 480.

At least some of the components in FIGS. 4A 400 and 4B 450 may beimplemented in software, while other components may be implemented byconfigurable hardware or a mixture of software and configurablehardware. In particular, it is noted that the FFT blocks and the IFFTblocks described in this disclosure document may be implemented asconfigurable software algorithms, where the value of Size N may bemodified according to the implementation.

Furthermore, although this disclosure is directed to an embodiment thatimplements the Fast Fourier Transform and the Inverse Fast FourierTransform, this is by way of illustration only and may not be construedto limit the scope of the disclosure. It may be appreciated that in analternate embodiment of the present disclosure, the Fast FourierTransform functions and the Inverse Fast Fourier Transform functions mayeasily be replaced by discrete Fourier transform (DFT) functions andinverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT) functions, respectively. Itmay be appreciated that for DFT and IDFT functions, the value of the Nvariable may be any integer number (i.e., 1, 4, 3, 4, etc.), while forFFT and IFFT functions, the value of the N variable may be any integernumber that is a power of two (i.e., 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, etc.).

In transmit path circuitry 400, channel coding and modulation block 405receives a set of information bits, applies coding (e.g., LDPC coding)and modulates (e.g., quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) or quadratureamplitude modulation (QAM)) the input bits to produce a sequence offrequency-domain modulation symbols. Serial-to-parallel block 410converts (i.e., de-multiplexes) the serial modulated symbols to paralleldata to produce N parallel symbol streams where N is the IFFT/FFT sizeused in BS 102 and UE 116. Size N IFFT block 415 then performs an IFFToperation on the N parallel symbol streams to produce time-domain outputsignals. Parallel-to-serial block 420 converts (i.e., multiplexes) theparallel time-domain output symbols from Size N IFFT block 415 toproduce a serial time-domain signal. Add cyclic prefix block 425 theninserts a cyclic prefix to the time-domain signal. Finally, up-converter430 modulates (i.e., up-converts) the output of add cyclic prefix block425 to RF frequency for transmission via a wireless channel. The signalmay also be filtered at baseband before conversion to RF frequency.

The transmitted RF signal arrives at the UE 116 after passing throughthe wireless channel, and reverse operations to those at gNB 102 areperformed. Down-converter 455 down-converts the received signal tobaseband frequency, and remove cyclic prefix block 460 removes thecyclic prefix to produce the serial time-domain baseband signal.Serial-to-parallel block 465 converts the time-domain baseband signal toparallel time-domain signals. Size N FFT block 470 then performs an FFTalgorithm to produce N parallel frequency-domain signals.Parallel-to-serial block 475 converts the parallel frequency-domainsignals to a sequence of modulated data symbols. Channel decoding anddemodulation block 480 demodulates and then decodes the modulatedsymbols to recover the original input data stream.

Each of gNBs 101-103 may implement a transmit path that is analogous totransmitting in the downlink to user equipment 111-116 and may implementa receive path that is analogous to receiving in the uplink from userequipment 111-116. Similarly, each one of user equipment 111-116 mayimplement a transmit path corresponding to the architecture fortransmitting in the uplink to gNBs 101-103 and may implement a receivepath corresponding to the architecture for receiving in the downlinkfrom gNBs 101-103.

5G communication system use cases have been identified and described.Those use cases can be roughly categorized into three different groups.In one example, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) is determined to dowith high bits/sec requirement, with less stringent latency andreliability requirements. In another example, ultra reliable and lowlatency (URLL) is determined with less stringent bits/sec requirement.In yet another example, massive machine type communication (mMTC) isdetermined that a number of devices can be as many as 100,000 to 1million per km2, but the reliability/throughput/latency requirementcould be less stringent. This scenario may also involve power efficiencyrequirement as well, in that the battery consumption may be minimized aspossible.

A communication system includes a downlink (DL) that conveys signalsfrom transmission points such as base stations (BSs) or NodeBs to userequipments (UEs) and an Uplink (UL) that conveys signals from UEs toreception points such as NodeBs. A UE, also commonly referred to as aterminal or a mobile station, may be fixed or mobile and may be acellular phone, a personal computer device, or an automated device. AneNodeB, which is generally a fixed station, may also be referred to asan access point or other equivalent terminology. For LTE systems, aNodeB is often referred as an eNodeB.

In a communication system, such as LTE system, DL signals can includedata signals conveying information content, control signals conveying DLcontrol information (DCI), and reference signals (RS) that are alsoknown as pilot signals. An eNodeB transmits data information through aphysical DL shared channel (PDSCH). An eNodeB transmits DCI through aphysical DL control channel (PDCCH) or an Enhanced PDCCH (EPDCCH).

An eNodeB transmits acknowledgement information in response to datatransport block (TB) transmission from a UE in a physical hybrid ARQindicator channel (PHICH). An eNodeB transmits one or more of multipletypes of RS including a UE-common RS (CRS), a channel state informationRS (CSI-RS), or a demodulation RS (DMRS). A CRS is transmitted over a DLsystem bandwidth (BW) and can be used by UEs to obtain a channelestimate to demodulate data or control information or to performmeasurements. To reduce CRS overhead, an eNodeB may transmit a CSI-RSwith a smaller density in the time and/or frequency domain than a CRS.DMRS can be transmitted only in the BW of a respective PDSCH or EPDCCHand a UE can use the DMRS to demodulate data or control information in aPDSCH or an EPDCCH, respectively. A transmission time interval for DLchannels is referred to as a subframe and can have, for example,duration of 1 millisecond.

DL signals also include transmission of a logical channel that carriessystem control information. A BCCH is mapped to either a transportchannel referred to as a broadcast channel (BCH) when the DL signalsconvey a master information block (MIB) or to a DL shared channel(DL-SCH) when the DL signals convey a System Information Block (SIB).Most system information is included in different SIBs that aretransmitted using DL-SCH. A presence of system information on a DL-SCHin a subframe can be indicated by a transmission of a correspondingPDCCH conveying a codeword with a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)scrambled with system information RNTI (SI-RNTI). Alternatively,scheduling information for a SIB transmission can be provided in anearlier SIB and scheduling information for the first SIB (SIB-1) can beprovided by the MIB.

DL resource allocation is performed in a unit of subframe and a group ofphysical resource blocks (PRBs). A transmission BW includes frequencyresource units referred to as resource blocks (RBs). Each RB includesN_(sc) ^(RB) sub-carriers, or resource elements (REs), such as 12 REs. Aunit of one RB over one subframe is referred to as a PRB. A UE can beallocated M_(PDSCH) RBs for a total of M_(sc) ^(PDSCH)=M_(PDSCH)·N_(sc)^(RB) REs for the PDSCH transmission BW.

UL signals can include data signals conveying data information, controlsignals conveying UL control information (UCI), and UL RS. UL RSincludes DMRS and Sounding RS (SRS). A UE transmits DMRS only in a BW ofa respective PUSCH or PUCCH. An eNodeB can use a DMRS to demodulate datasignals or UCI signals. A UE transmits SRS to provide an eNodeB with anUL CSI. A UE transmits data information or UCI through a respectivephysical UL shared channel (PUSCH) or a Physical UL control channel(PUCCH). If a UE needs to transmit data information and UCI in a same ULsubframe, the UE may multiplex both in a PUSCH. UCI includes HybridAutomatic Repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) information,indicating correct (ACK) or incorrect (NACK) detection for a data TB ina PDSCH or absence of a PDCCH detection (DTX), scheduling request (SR)indicating whether a UE has data in the UE's buffer, rank indicator(RI), and channel state information (CSI) enabling an eNodeB to performlink adaptation for PDSCH transmissions to a UE. HARQ-ACK information isalso transmitted by a UE in response to a detection of a PDCCH/EPDCCHindicating a release of semi-persistently scheduled PDSCH.

An UL subframe includes two slots. Each slot includes N_(symb) ^(UL)symbols for transmitting data information, UCI, DMRS, or SRS. Afrequency resource unit of an UL system BW is a RB. A UE is allocatedN_(RB) RBs for a total of N_(RB)·NR_(sc) ^(RB) REs for a transmissionBW. For a PUCCH, N_(RB)=1. A last subframe symbol can be used tomultiplex SRS transmissions from one or more UEs. A number of subframesymbols that are available for data/UCI/DMRS transmission isN_(symb)=2·(N_(symb) ^(UL)−1)−N_(SRS), where N_(SRS)=1 if a lastsubframe symbol is used to transmit SRS and N_(SRS)=0 otherwise.

FIG. 5 illustrates a transmitter block diagram 500 for a PDSCH in asubframe according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Theembodiment of the transmitter block diagram 500 illustrated in FIG. 5 isfor illustration only. FIG. 5 does not limit the scope of thisdisclosure to any particular implementation of the transmitter blockdiagram 500.

As shown in FIG. 5, information bits 510 are encoded by encoder 520,such as a turbo encoder, and modulated by modulator 530, for exampleusing quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation. A serial toparallel (S/P) converter 540 generates M modulation symbols that aresubsequently provided to a mapper 550 to be mapped to REs selected by atransmission BW selection unit 555 for an assigned PDSCH transmissionBW, unit 560 applies an Inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT), theoutput is then serialized by a parallel to serial (P/S) converter 570 tocreate a time domain signal, filtering is applied by filter 580, and asignal transmitted 590. Additional functionalities, such as datascrambling, cyclic prefix insertion, time windowing, interleaving, andothers are well known in the art and are not shown for brevity.

FIG. 6 illustrates a receiver block diagram 600 for a PDSCH in asubframe according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Theembodiment of the diagram 600 illustrated in FIG. 6 is for illustrationonly. FIG. 6 does not limit the scope of this disclosure to anyparticular implementation of the diagram 600.

As shown in FIG. 6, a received signal 610 is filtered by filter 620, REs630 for an assigned reception BW are selected by BW selector 635, unit640 applies a fast Fourier transform (FFT), and an output is serializedby a parallel-to-serial converter 650. Subsequently, a demodulator 660coherently demodulates data symbols by applying a channel estimateobtained from a DMRS or a CRS (not shown), and a decoder 670, such as aturbo decoder, decodes the demodulated data to provide an estimate ofthe information data bits 680. Additional functionalities such astime-windowing, cyclic prefix removal, de-scrambling, channelestimation, and de-interleaving are not shown for brevity.

FIG. 7 illustrates a transmitter block diagram 700 for a PUSCH in asubframe according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Theembodiment of the block diagram 700 illustrated in FIG. 7 is forillustration only. FIG. 7 does not limit the scope of this disclosure toany particular implementation of the block diagram 700.

As shown in FIG. 7, information data bits 710 are encoded by encoder720, such as a turbo encoder, and modulated by modulator 730. A discreteFourier transform (DFT) unit 740 applies a DFT on the modulated databits, REs 750 corresponding to an assigned PUSCH transmission BW areselected by transmission BW selection unit 755, unit 760 applies an IFFTand, after a cyclic prefix insertion (not shown), filtering is appliedby filter 770 and a signal transmitted 780.

FIG. 8 illustrates a receiver block diagram 800 for a PUSCH in asubframe according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Theembodiment of the block diagram 800 illustrated in FIG. 8 is forillustration only. FIG. 8 does not limit the scope of this disclosure toany particular implementation of the block diagram 800.

As shown in FIG. 8, a received signal 810 is filtered by filter 820.Subsequently, after a cyclic prefix is removed (not shown), unit 830applies a FFT, REs 840 corresponding to an assigned PUSCH reception BWare selected by a reception BW selector 845, unit 850 applies an inverseDFT (IDFT), a demodulator 860 coherently demodulates data symbols byapplying a channel estimate obtained from a DMRS (not shown), a decoder870, such as a turbo decoder, decodes the demodulated data to provide anestimate of the information data bits 880.

In next generation cellular systems, various use cases are envisionedbeyond the capabilities of LTE system. Termed 5G or the fifth generationcellular system, a system capable of operating at sub-6 GHz and above-6GHz (for example, in mmWave regime) becomes one of the requirements. In3GPP TR 22.891, 74 5G use cases has been identified and described; thoseuse cases can be roughly categorized into three different groups. Afirst group is termed “enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB),” targeted tohigh data rate services with less stringent latency and reliabilityrequirements. A second group is termed “ultra-reliable and low latency(URLL)” targeted for applications with less stringent data raterequirements, but less tolerant to latency. A third group is termed“massive MTC (mMTC)” targeted for large number of low-power deviceconnections such as 1 million per km² with less stringent thereliability, data rate, and latency requirements.

In order for the 5G network to support such diverse services withdifferent quality of services (QoS), one method has been identified in3GPP specification, called network slicing. To utilize PHY resourcesefficiently and multiplex various slices (with different resourceallocation schemes, numerologies, and scheduling strategies) in DL-SCH,a flexible and self-contained frame or subframe design is utilized.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example multiplexing of two slices 900 accordingto embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of themultiplexing of two slices 900 illustrated in FIG. 9 is for illustrationonly. FIG. 9 does not limit the scope of this disclosure to anyparticular implementation of the multiplexing of two slices 900.

Two exemplary instances of multiplexing two slices within a commonsubframe or frame are depicted in FIG. 9. In these exemplaryembodiments, a slice can be composed of one or two transmissioninstances where one transmission instance includes a control (CTRL)component (e.g., 920 a, 960 a, 960 b, 920 b, or 960 c) and a datacomponent (e.g., 930 a, 970 a, 970 b, 930 b, or 970 c). In embodiment910, the two slices are multiplexed in frequency domain whereas inembodiment 950, the two slices are multiplexed in time domain. These twoslices can be transmitted with different sets of numerology.

3GPP specification supports up to 32 CSI-RS antenna ports which enablean gNB to be equipped with a large number of antenna elements (such as64 or 128). In this case, a plurality of antenna elements is mapped ontoone CSI-RS port. For next generation cellular systems such as 5G, themaximum number of CSI-RS ports can either remain the same or increase.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example antenna blocks 1000 according toembodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the antennablocks 1000 illustrated in FIG. 10 is for illustration only. FIG. 10does not limit the scope of this disclosure to any particularimplementation of the antenna blocks 1000.

For mmWave bands, although the number of antenna elements can be largerfor a given form factor, the number of CSI-RS ports—which can correspondto the number of digitally precoded ports—tends to be limited due tohardware constraints (such as the feasibility to install a large numberof ADCs/DACs at mmWave frequencies) as illustrated in FIG. 10. In thiscase, one CSI-RS port is mapped onto a large number of antenna elementswhich can be controlled by a bank of analog phase shifters. One CSI-RSport can then correspond to one sub-array which produces a narrow analogbeam through analog beamforming. This analog beam can be configured tosweep across a wider range of angles by varying the phase shifter bankacross symbols or subframes. The number of sub-arrays (equal to thenumber of RF chains) is the same as the number of CSI-RS portsN_(CSI-PORT). A digital beamforming unit performs a linear combinationacross N_(CSI-PORT) analog beams to further increase precoding gain.While analog beams are wideband (hence not frequency-selective), digitalprecoding can be varied across frequency sub-bands or resource blocks.

Although exemplary descriptions and embodiments to follow assumeorthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or orthogonalfrequency division multiple access (OFDMA), the present disclosure canbe extended to other OFDM-based transmission waveforms or multipleaccess schemes such as filtered OFDM (F-OFDM).

FIG. 11 illustrates an example multi-beam system 1100 according toembodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the multi-beamsystem 1100 illustrated in FIG. 11 is for illustration only. FIG. 11does not limit the scope of this disclosure to any particularimplementation.

In LTE, a number of CSI reporting modes exist for both periodic(PUCCH-based) and aperiodic (PUSCH-based) CSI reporting. Each CSIreporting mode is dependent on (coupled with) many other parameters(e.g. codebook selection, transmission mode, eMIMO-Type, RS type, numberof CRS or CSI-RS ports). At least two drawbacks can be perceived. First,complex “nested loops” (IF . . . ELSE . . . ) and webs ofcouplings/linkages exist. This complicates testing efforts. Second,forward compatibility is limited especially when new features areintroduced.

While the above drawbacks apply to DL CSI measurement, the same can besaid for UL CSI measurements. In LTE, UL CSI measurement frameworkexists in a primitive form and is not as evolved as DL counterpart. Inthe advent of TDD or reciprocity-based systems for next generationsystems along with the likely prominence of OFDMA or OFDMA-basedmultiple access for UL, a same (or at least similar) CSI measurement andreporting framework applicable for both DL and UL is beneficial.

The 5G system is generally a multi-beam based system. In such a system,multiple beams are used to cover one coverage area. An example forillustration is shown in FIG. 11. As shown in FIG. 11, one gNB has oneor more TRPs. Each TRP uses one or more analog beams to cover some area.To cover one UE in one particular area, the gNB use one or more analogbeams to transmit and receive the signal to and from that UE. The gNBand the UE need to determine the beam(s) used for their connection. Whenthe UE moves within one cell coverage area, the beam(s) used for this UEmay be changed and switched. It was agreed in 3GPP NR RAN1 meetings thatthe operation of managing those beams are L1 and L2 operation.

In one embodiment, for downlink assignment and scheduling downlinkreception, a two-level DCI (downlink control information), namely DCI₁and DCI₂, is configured to schedule N≥1 codewords for downlinkreception. Where the first level DCI, DCI₁, can include a B-bit fieldaddtionalCW to indicate the absence or presence of second level DCI,DCI₂. The first level DCI, DCI₁, can include one MCS (modulation andcoding scheme) field and one HARQ-related parameter and/or RV associatedwith a PDSCH assignment for one codeword. When DCI₂ is absent, the UEmay receive the downlink transmission based on assignment signaled inDCI₁. When DCI₂ is present (as signaled in DCI1), DCI2 can include MCSfiled(s) and HARQ-related parameter(s) and/or RV(s) associated withPDSCH assignment for additional N−1 codewords. When DCI₂ is present, theUE may receive the downlink PDSCH assignment based on assignmentscheduled by both DCI₁ and associated DCI₂.

The technical problems are how to indicate the QCL configuration forthose codewords scheduled by two-level DCI and how to indicate the QCLconfiguration for PDCCH reception of these two-level DCI. The QCLconfiguration can include one or more of the following QCL types:Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread and spatialRx parameter. Here the spatial Rx parameter can also called Tx beamindication, beam indication, Rx beam.

In one embodiment, first level DCI, DCI₁, includes one N_(Q1)-bit fieldQCL1stCW to indicate the QCL configuration for the reception of thecodeword scheduled by DCI₁. When DCI₂ is present, one or more additionalQCL configuration fields are signaled in DCI₂ to indicate the QCLconfiguration for additional codewords. The UE can be requested toassume the DM-RS antenna ports associated with the reception of codewordindicated by DCI₁ are quasi co-located with the RS(s) as indicated bythe QCL configuration signaled by one N_(Q1)-bit field QCL1stCW signaledin DCI₁. To receive the codeword(s) scheduled by DCI₂, the UE may assumethe DM-RS antenna ports associated with those codewords are quasico-located with RS(s) as indicated by the QCL configuration signaledthrough the corresponding bit field in DCI₂.

In one embodiment, the QCL configuration for all the codewords scheduledby DCI₁ and DCI₂ are jointly signaled by one N_(Q)-bit field QCLforPDSCHin DCI₁. If DCI2 is absent, the UE can be requested to obtain the QCLconfiguration for reception of codeword scheduled by DCI₁ from theN_(Q)-bit field QCLforPDSCH in DCI₁. When DCI₂ is present, the UE can berequested to obtain both QCL configuration for the reception of codewordscheduled by DCI1 and the QCL configuration for the reception ofadditional codeword(s) scheduled by DCI2 from the N_(Q)-bit fieldQCLforPDSCH in DCI₁.

In one example, one value of N_(Q)-bit field QCLforPDSCH can correspondto N TCI states and RS(s) configured in each TCI state can provide QCLconfiguration. The association between one value of N_(Q)-bit fieldQCLforPDSCH and N TCI states can be configured or indicated by highlayer signaling. Each of those N TCI state can provide QCL configurationfor PDSCH reception.

In one example, when DCI₂ is not present, the UE can be requested toassume the DM-RS antenna ports associate with the reception of codewordscheduled by DCI₁ are quasi co-located with the RS indicated by thefirst TCI state among those N TCI states associated with the signaledvalue of N_(Q)-bit field QCLforPDSCH in DCI₁.

In one example, when DCI₂ is present and one additional codeword isindicated by DCI₂, the UE can be requested to assume the DM-RS antennaports associate with the reception of codeword scheduled by DCI₁ arequasi co-located with the RS indicated by the first TCI state amongthose N TCI states associated with the signaled value of N_(Q)-bit fieldQCLforPDSCH in DCI₁ and the UE can be requested to assume the DM-RSantenna ports associate with the reception of additional codewordindicated by DCI₂ are quasi co-located with the RS indicated by thesecond TCI state among those N TCI states associated with the signaledvalue of N_(Q)-bit field QCLforPDSCH in DCI₁

In one example, when DCI₂ is present and two additional codewords isindicated by DCI₂, the UE can be requested to assume the DM-RS antennaports associate with the reception of codeword scheduled by DCI₁ arequasi co-located with the RS indicated by the first TCI state amongthose N TCI states associated with the signaled value of N_(Q)-bit fieldQCLforPDSCH in DCI₁ and the UE can be requested to assume the DM-RSantenna ports associate with the reception of the first additionalcodeword indicated by DCI₂ are quasi co-located with the RS indicated bythe third TCI state among those N TCI states associated with thesignaled value of N_(Q)-bit field QCLforPDSCH in DCI₁

In one example, if the value of N_(Q)-bit field QCLforPDSCH signaled byDCI₁ corresponds to a single TCI state and the RS(s) configured in TCIstate provide QCL configurations, the UE may assume the DM-RS antennaports associated with the reception of codeword indicated by DCI₁ andall the additional codewords indicated by DCI₂ are quasi co-located withthe RS(s) configured in the TCI state corresponding to the value ofN_(Q)-bit field QCLforPDSCH signaled in DCI₁.

In some embodiments, for downlink signaling for downlink reception, aN-level DCI (downlink control information), namely DCI₁, DCI₂, . . . ,DCI_(N), can be configured to indicate the transmission of N≥1 codewordsfor downlink reception. DCI₁ can include MCS field and HARQ-relatedparameters associated with a PDSCH assignment for one codeword. DCI1 caninclude a B-bit field addtionalCW to indicate the absence or presence ofDCI₂, DCI₃, . . . , DCI_(N). When addtionalCW indicates that presence ofDCI₂, DCI₃, . . . , DCI_(N), each of DCI₂, DCI₃, . . . , DCI_(N) caninclude one MCS field and HARQ-related parameters associated with foreach codeword of additional N−1 codewords in one PDSCH assignment.

In one embodiment, DCI₁ can include bit filed(s) to indicate one or moreof the following information: (1) the presence or absence of one or moreadditional DCIs (2) the number of additional DCIs that are present.

In one example, DCI₁ can include two bit-fields: bit-field1 to indicatethe presence and absence of any additional DCI(s) and bit-field2 toindicate the number of additional DCI being present.

In one example, DCI₁ can include one bit-field, bit-field1 to jointlyindicate the presence and absence of any additional DCI(s) and thenumber of additional DCIs being present. In one example, bit-field1=00indicates that no additional DCI is present and bit-field1=01 indicatesthat one additional DCI is present and the UE can be requested tomonitor for DCI₁ and DCI₂; bit-field1=10 indicates that two additionalDCIs is present and the UE can be requested to monitor for DCI₁, DCI₂and DCI₃; bit-field1=11 indicates that three additional DCIs is presentand the UE can be requested to monitor for DCI₁, DCI₂, DCI₃ and DCI₄;

In one embodiment, each DCI (DCI₁, DCI₂, . . . , DCI_(N)) in N-level DCIcan include a one bit-field QCLforCW to indicate the QCL configurationfor the reception of the codeword scheduled by that DCI. The UE mayassume the DM-RS antenna ports associated with the reception of PDSCH ofcodeword indicated by the DCI₁ are quasi co-located with QCLconfiguration as indicated by the bit-field QCLforCW contained in DCI₁.If DCI₂ is present, the UE may assume the DM-RS antenna ports associatedwith the reception of PDSCH of codeword indicated by the DCI₂ are quasico-located with QCL configuration as indicated by the bit-field QCLforCWcontained in DCI₂. If DCI_(N) is present, the UE may assume the DM-RSantenna ports associated with the reception of PDSCH of codewordindicated by the DCI_(N) are quasi co-located with QCL configuration asindicated by the bit-field QCLforCW contained in DCI_(N).

In one embodiment, DCI₁ can include one bit-field QCLforCWALL to jointlyindicate the QCL configuration for the reception of all the codewordsindicated by DCI₁ and all the present additional DCI(s). In one example,one value of bit-field QCLforCWALL can correspond to N TCI states andRS(s) configured in each TCI state can provide QCL configuration fordownlink reception of PDSCH codeword indicated by DCI₁ and additionalone or more DCI(s).

In some embodiments, for downlink signaling for uplink transmission, aN-level DCI (downlink control information), namely DCI₁, DCI₂, . . . ,DCI_(N), can be configured to indicate the transmission of N≥1 codewordsfor uplink transmission. DCI₁ can include MCS field and HARQ-relatedparameters associated with a PUSCH assignment for one codeword. DCI₁ caninclude a B-bit field addtionalCW to indicate the absence or presence ofDCI₂, DCI₃, . . . , DCI_(N). When addtionalCW indicates presence ofDCI₂, DCI₃, . . . , DCI_(N), each of DCI₂, DCI₃, . . . , DCI_(N) caninclude one MCS field and HARQ-related parameters associated with foreach codeword of additional N−1 codewords in one PUSCH assignment.

In one embodiment, DCI₁ can include bit filed(s) to indicate one or moreof the following information: (1) the presence or absence of one or moreadditional DCIs (2) the number of additional DCIs that are present.

In one example, DCI₁ can include two bit-fields: bit-field1 to indicatethe presence and absence of any additional DCI(s) and bit-field2 toindicate the number of additional DCI being present.

In one example, DCI₁ can include one bit-field, bit-field1 to jointlyindicate the presence and absence of any additional DCI(s) and thenumber of additional DCIs being present. In one example, bit-field1=00indicates that no additional DCI is present and bit-field1=01 indicatesthat one additional DCI is present and the UE can be requested tomonitor for DCI₁ and DCI₂; bit-field1=10 indicates that two additionalDCIs is present and the UE can be requested to monitor for DCI₁, DCI₂and DCI₃; bit-field1=11 indicates that three additional DCIs is presentand the UE can be requested to monitor for DCI₁, DCI₂, DCI₃ and DCI₄.

In one embodiment, each DCI (DCI₁, DCI₂, . . . , DCI_(N)) in N-level DCIcan include a bit-field SRIforCW to indicate the Tx beam information forthe transmission of the codeword scheduled by that DCI. The bit-fieldSRIforCW can indicate an indicator of SRS resource, CSI-RS resource orSS/PBCH block and the UE may use the same transmit filter to transmitthe PUSCH codeword indicated by the DCI₁ as the transmit filter used bythe RS indicated by the bit-field SRIforCW contained in DCI₁. If DCI₂ ispresent, the UE may use the same transmit filter to transmit the PUSCHcodeword indicated by the DCI₂ as the transmit filter used by the RSindicated by the bit-field SRIforCW contained in DCI₂. If DCI_(N) ispresent, the UE may use the same transmit filter to transmit the PUSCHcodeword indicated by the DCI_(N) as the transmit filter used by the RSindicated by the bit-field SRIforCW contained in DCI_(N).

In one example, DCI₁ can include one bit-field SRIforCW to jointlyindicate the Tx beam information for the transmission of all thecodewords indicated by DCI₁ and all the present additional DCI(s). Inone example, one value of bit-field SRIforCW can correspond to Nindicators of SRS resources, CSI-RS resources and/or SS/PBCH blocks andeach RS resource configured here can provide spatial transmit filterinformation uplink transmission of PUSCH codeword indicated by DCI₁ andadditional one or more DCI(s).

In one embodiment 1, for downlink signaling for scheduling downlinkreception and/or uplink transmission, a two-level DCI, namely DCI₁ andDCI₂, is configured to configure N≥1 codeword(s) for downlink receptionand/or UL transmission. In one embodiment, a UE can be requested todecode DCI₁ and DCI₂ in one same search space and the associated controlresource set in one same slot. The UE can be requested to assume the QCLassumption configured to the associated control resource set to monitorthe PDCCH for two-level DCI, DCI₁ and DCI₂. In one example, a UE detectsone DCI₁ in slot n as configured through a search space s and associatedcontrol resource set p. If the bit-field in decoded DCI₁ indicates thepresence of DCI₂, the UE may decode DCI₂ in slot n as configured througha search space s and associated control resource set p.

In one embodiment 1-1, for downlink signaling for scheduling downlinkreception and/or uplink transmission, a N-level DCI, namely DCI₁, DCI₂,. . . , DCI_(N), is configured to configure N≥1 codeword(s) for downlinkreception and/or UL transmission. In one embodiment, a UE can berequested to decode DCI₁, DCI₂, . . . , DCI_(N) (if DCI₂, . . . ,DCI_(N) are present as indicated by DCI₁) in one same search space andthe associated control resource set in one same slot. The UE can berequested to assume the QCL assumption configured to the associatedcontrol resource set to monitor the PDCCH for N-level DCI. In oneexample, a UE detects one DCI₁ in slot n as configured through a searchspace s and associated control resource set p. If the bit-field indecoded DCI₁ indicates the presence of one or more of {DCI₂, DCI₃, . . ., DCI_(N)}, the UE may decode the presented DCI₂/DCI₃/ . . . /DCI_(N) inslot n as configured through a search space s and associated controlresource set p.

In one embodiment 2, for downlink signaling for scheduling downlinkreception and/or uplink transmission, a two-level DCI, namely DCI₁ andDCI₂, is configured to configure N≥1 codeword(s) for downlink receptionand/or UL transmission. For the reception of PDCCH, a UE can beconfigured with a search spaces and the configured search space can beassociated with two control resource sets p₁ and p₂. For those twocontrol resource set, same PDCCH monitoring periodicity and PDCCHmonitoring offset can be configured. For each of these two controlresource sets p₁ and p₂, the UE can be configured with a PDCCHmonitoring pattern within a slot to indicate the first symbol(s) of thecontrol resource set within a slot for PDCCH monitoring. The UE can berequested to first monitor PDCCH in control resource set p₁ for DCI₁. Ifthe decoded DCI₁ indicate the presence of DCI₂, then the UE can berequested to monitor PDCCH in control resource set p₂ for DCI₂. Whenmonitoring PDCCH in control resource sets p₁ and p₂, the UE can berequested to apply the QCL assumption configured to control resourcesets p₁ and p₂, respectively.

In one example, the UE can be configured to first monitor PDCCH for DCI₁in either control resource sets p₁ and p₂ at one slot n. If the UE candetect DCI₁, from control resource set p₁ and the detected DCI₁indicates the presence of DCI₂, then the UE may monitor PDCCH for DCI₂in control resource set p₂. If the UE can detect DCI₁, from controlresource set p₂ and the detected DCI₁ indicates the presence of DCI₂,then the UE may monitor PDCCH for DCI₂ in control resource set p₁.

In one embodiment 2-1, for downlink signaling for scheduling downlinkreception and/or uplink transmission, a N-level DCI, namely DCI₁, DCI₂,. . . , DCI_(N), is configured to configure N≥1 codeword(s) for downlinkreception and/or UL transmission. For the reception of PDCCH, a UE canbe configured with a search space s and the configured search space canbe associated with two control resource sets p₁ and p₂. For those twocontrol resource set, same PDCCH monitoring periodicity and PDCCHmonitoring offset can be configured. For each of these two controlresource sets p₁ and p₂, the UE can be configured with a PDCCHmonitoring pattern within a slot to indicate the first symbol(s) of thecontrol resource set within a slot for PDCCH monitoring. The UE can berequested to first monitor PDCCH in control resource set p₁ for DCI₁. Ifthe decoded DCI₁ indicate the presence of one or some of {DCI₂, DCI₃, .. . , DCI_(N)}, then the UE can be requested to monitor PDCCH in controlresource set p₂ for those of {DCI₂, DCI₃, . . . , DCI_(N)}, which arepresent as indicated by decoded DCI₁. When monitoring PDCCH in controlresource sets p₁ and p₂, the UE can be requested to apply the QCLassumption configured to control resource sets p₁ and p₂, respectively.

In one embodiment 2-2, for downlink signaling for scheduling downlinkreception and/or uplink transmission, a N-level DCI, namely DCI₁, DCI₂,. . . , DCI_(N), is configured to configure N≥1 codeword(s) for downlinkreception and/or UL transmission. For the reception of PDCCH, a UE canbe configured with a search space s and the configured search space canbe associated with N control resource sets {p₁, p₂, . . . , p_(N)} Forthose control resource set, same PDCCH monitoring periodicity and PDCCHmonitoring offset can be configured. For each of these control resourcesets {p₁, p₂, . . . , p_(N)}, the UE can be configured with a PDCCHmonitoring pattern within a slot to indicate the first symbol(s) of thecontrol resource set within a slot for PDCCH monitoring. The UE can berequested to first monitor PDCCH in control resource set p₁ for DCI₁. Ifthe decoded DCI₁ indicate the presence of one or some of {DCI₂, DCI₃, .. . , DCI_(N)}, then the UE can be requested to monitor PDCCH in thecorresponding control resource sets out of {p₂, . . . , p_(N)} for thoseof {DCI₂, DCI₃, . . . , DCI_(N)}, which are present as indicated bydecoded DCI₁. When monitoring PDCCH in control resource sets {p₁, p₂, .. . , p_(N)}, the UE can be requested to apply the QCL assumptionconfigured to control resource sets {p₁, p₂, . . . , p_(N)},respectively.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example transmission 1200 for multiple TRPsaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment ofthe transmission 1200 illustrated in FIG. 12 is for illustration only.FIG. 12 does not limit the scope of this disclosure to any particularimplementation.

The aforementioned embodiment in embodiments 2, 2-1, and 2-2 are veryuseful for transmission from multiple TRPs, for example the non-coherentjoint transmission. An example for use case is shown in FIG. 12. A UE1203 can be configured with multi-TRP transmission from TRP 1201 and TRP1202. The TRP 1201 can use Tx beam 1211 to transmit PDCCH to 1203 andthe UE 1203 can use Rx beam 1221 to receive. The TRP 1202 can use Txbeam 1212 to transmit PDCCH to 1203 and the UE 1203 can use Rx beam 1222to receive. The UE 1203 can be configured with two control resource setsp₁ and p₂. The UE 1203 can be configured with one search spaceassociated with both control resource sets p₁ and p₂ for monitoringPDCCH. With such configuration, non-coherent joint transmission and DPS(dynamic point switch) from TRPs 1201 and 1202 to UE 1203 can be easilyimplemented. Two control resource sets s₁ and s₂ are configured withproper QCL configuration with respect to Tx beam 1211 and 1212,respectively.

To implement non-coherent joint transmission, the TRP 1201 can transmitDCI₁ through Tx beam 1211 in one control resource set s₁. The DCI₁ canindicate the present of DCI₂ and the TRP 1202 can transmit DCI₂ with Txbeam 1212 in control resource set s₂. With the proper configuration ofcontrol resource sets and their QCL configuration, the UE 1203 canreceive the DCIs accordingly. To implement DPS, either TRP 1201 cantransmit one DCI scheduling downlink transmission in control resourceset s₁ with Tx beam 1211 or TRP 1202 can transmit one DCI schedulingdownlink transmission in control resource set s₂ with Tx beam 1212.

In some embodiments, a UE can be configured to receive a PDCCH byassuming the PDCCH is transmitted with a manner of Tx beam sweeping intime domain. By doing that, a PDCCH can be transmitted with multipledifferent Tx beams. Such design is useful for high-frequency system todefeat the beam link breakage. In high frequency system, the linkbetween gNB and UE would be more directional than lower frequency systemdue to high-gain beamforming mechanism is used. Therefore, the linkwould be more fragile to the variation of environment. The rotation ofUE could impair the beam link quality. Transmitting control channel withTx beam sweeping method can improve the robustness of PDCCH links.Generally there might exist multiple good beam pair links between a gNBand a UE. Transmitting the PDCCH with those good beam pair linksalternatively can reduce the chance of link drop caused by blockage ofbeam pair link.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example multi-beam transmission 1300 to a UEaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment ofthe multi-beam transmission 1300 illustrated in FIG. 13 is forillustration only. FIG. 13 does not limit the scope of this disclosureto any particular implementation.

As shown in FIG. 13, a PDCCH can be sent through two different beam pairlinks between the gNB and UE. By measuring the Tx beam quality, the UE1302 can find there are two “good” Tx beams 1311 and 1312 of gNB 1301.The gNB can configure to use Tx beams 1311 and 1312 to transmit PDCCH tothe UE 1302 alternatively in time domain. When the UE 1302 receives aPDCCH configured to be transmitted with Tx transmit beam 1311, the UE1302 can use Rx beam 1321. When the UE 1302 receives a PDCCH configuredto be transmitted with Tx beam beam 1312, the UE 1302 can use Rx beam1322. The association between Tx beam 1311 and Rx beam 1321 can beobtained during the beam measurement. The association between Tx beam1312 and Rx beam 1322 can be obtained during the beam measurement. Inone example, the UE 1302 can be configured with the information on howthe PDCCH is transmitted with Tx beam 1311 and 1312 alternatively intime domain. In another example, the UE 1302 can be configured with theconfiguration on how the PDCCH may be received with Rx beam 1321 and1322 alternatively in time domain.

In one embodiment, the configuration of using which Tx beam to transmit(or which Rx beam to receive) a PDCCH is per slot. In one example, a UEcan be configured to monitor PDCCH in multiple slots. The UE can beconfigured to assume a first Tx beam is applied to the PDCCHtransmission in a first subsets of those slots and to assume a second Txbeam is applied to the PDCCH transmission in a second subsets of thoseslots. In one example, a UE can be configured to monitor PDCCH inmultiple slots. The UE can be configured to use a first Rx beam toreceive the PDCCH transmission in a first subsets of those slots and touse a second Rx beam to receive the PDCCH transmission in a secondsubsets of those slots.

In one embodiment, the configuration of using which Tx beam to transmit(or which Rx beam to receive) a PDCCH is per OFDM symbol within oneslot. A PDCCH can be transmitted over a resource set with multiplesymbols. The UE can be configured with the Tx beam ID for each symbolwithin one PDCCH transmission and different Tx beams can be configuredfor different symbols within one PDCCH transmission. Thus to receive onePDCCH in a slot, the UE can be requested to apply different Rx beam(corresponding to the configured Tx beams) to receive those symbols inone PDCCH.

In one example, a UE can be configured with a control resource set p.The UE can be configured with a search space s with respect to controlresource set p to monitor PDCCH. In the configuration of search space s,the UE can be configured with PDCCH monitoring slot periodicity of slotsk_(p,s) and PDCCH monitoring offset of o_(p,s) slots and the firstsymbol(s) of control resource set p within one slot for monitoringPDCCH. For control resource set p, the UE can be configured or indicatedwith one or more of the following parameters.

In one example, one or multiple antenna port quasi co-locationconfiguration. Each antenna port quasi co-location can be configuredthrough one TCI (transmission configuration indication) state toindicate quasi co-location information of the DM-RS antenna port forPDCCH reception with respect to delay spread, Doppler spread, Dopplershift, average delay and spatial Rx parameters. Here the spatial Rxparameters is equivalent to the Tx beam or Rx beam indication. Inanother one example, each antenna port quasi co-location configurationsignaled through one configured/indicated TCI (transmissionconfiguration indicator) state.

The UE can be configured with an association between aconfigured/indicated antenna port quasi co-location configuration withthe slot location(s) of PDCCH transmission.

A configuration of pattern of cycling (for called apply) those antennaport quasi co-location configurations on PDCCH transmission.

The periodicity of cycling or applying those antenna port quasico-location configurations on PDCCH.

To receive PDCCH transmitted in one slot, the UE can be requested toobtain the corresponding/associated antenna port quasi co-locationconfiguration according the configuration of the control resource setand the transmission location (including slot index where the PDCCH istransmitted and/or the logical index of this PDCCH transmission) and theUE assumes that the DM-RS antenna port associated with this PDCCHreception is quasi co-located with one or more downlink RS configured bythe identified antenna port quasi co-location configuration.

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured with a control resource set pand K>=1 TCI states can be configured for control resource set p toprovide the pool of antenna port quasi co-location configuration forPDCCH reception on this control resource set. A selection command (e.g.,a MAC message) can indicate N>=1 TCI states (out of K configured TCIstates) for the QCL assumption for the UE to receive PDCCH on thiscontrol resource set. When N is >1, the gNB can signal one associationbetween each indicated TCI state and the transmission location of PDCCHof this control resource set p. After receiving the selection command,the UE can be requested to receive one PDCCH by assuming the DM-RSantenna port is quasi co-located with one or more downlink RS configuredby one TCI state that the UE may identify based on the associationbetween TCI state and the transmission location of PDCCH configured inselection command and the location of this PDCCH transmission

In one example, a UE can be configured with a control resource set p anda search space set s configured for the UE to monitor PDCCH. The searchspace set s is associated with control resource set p. In search spaceset s, a PDCCH monitoring periodicity of k_(p,s) slots is configured byhigher layer parameter monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset; a PDCCHmonitoring offset of o_(p,s) slots, where 0≤o_(p,s)<k_(p,s) isconfigured by higher layer parameter monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset;a PDCCH monitoring pattern within a slot, indicating first symbol(s) ofthe control resource set within a slot for PDCCH monitoring, isconfigured by higher layer parameter monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot. Forcontrol resource set p, the UE can be configured or indicated with 4 TCIstates: TCI₁, TCI₂, TCI₃ and TCI₄. (Here 4 is used for exemplarypurpose. It is easy to extend the embodiment to other values). The UEcan be configured with a monitoring pattern for TCI states {TCI₁, TCI₂,TCI₃ and TCI₄}, which indicates which PDCCH(s) transmission isassociated with each of those TCI states {TCI₁, TCI₂, TCI₃ and TCI₄}. Inone example, it can be configured through a TCI-state-Map with L entries{a₁, a₂, a₃, . . . , a_(L)}. The monitoring pattern for TCI states{TCI₁, TCI₂, TCI₃ and TCI₄} on PDCCH of control resource set p hasperiodicity of L PDCCH transmissions. The value of each a₁ indicates oneTCI state out of {TC₁, TCI₂, TCI₃ and TCI₄} and a₁ indicating TCI_(i)(i=1, 2, 3, 4) can mean that the UE can be requested to assume the QCLassumption of l-th PDCCH transmission in each TCI state monitoringpattern period is TCI_(i).

When monitoring PDCCH in search space set s, the UE can be requested tocalculate the QCL assumption TCI state for one PDCCH reception based onthe slot location of PDCCH, the configured TCI state monitoring pattern,the PDCCH monitoring offset, the PDCCH monitoring periodicity. In oneexample, to receive PDCCH in slot o_(p,s)+m×k_(p,s) (m=0, 1, 2, . . . ),the UE may assume the DM-RS antenna port associated with PDCCHtransmission(s) in in slot o_(p,s)+m×k_(p,s) (m=0, 1, 2, . . . ) isquasi co-located with the TCI state out of {TC₁, TCI₂, TCI₃ and TCI₄},which is indicated by a_(i) in {a₁, a₂, a₃, . . . , a_(L)} where i=m(mod L)+1.

In one example, a UE can be configured/indicated with 4 TCI states,{TC₁, TCI₂, TCI₃ and TCI₄}. For each configured TCI state, the UE can beconfigured with a PDCCH monitoring periodicity and a PDCCH monitoringslot offset. For reception of PDCCH at slot n, the UE may assume theDM-RS antenna port of PDCCH is quasi co-located with the TCI state whereslot n is associated with this TCI state's configured monitoringperiodicity and slot offset.

In one example, when the PDCCH monitoring pattern of two or more TCIstate collide in one slot, the UE may assume the DM-RS port of PDCCH isquasi co-located with the TCI state with lowest entry of those collidingTCI states.

In one embodiment, the sweeping of TCI states can be configured acrosssymbols within a control resource set. A UE can be configured with acontrol resource set p. In the configuration of this control resourceset p, a number of consecutive symbols is configured by higher layerparameter CORESET-time-duration. For this control resource set p, the UEcan be configured or indicated with multiple (for example 4) TCI states,{TCI₁, TCI₂, TCI₃ and TCI₄}, which is used as the QCL assumption foreach symbols within the control resource set p. The UE can be configuredwith a monitoring pattern of those TCI states {TCI₁, TCI₂, TCI₃ andTCI₄} across the symbols within control resource set p. The UE can berequested to apply the QCL assumption indicated by TCI states of {TCI₁,TCI₂, TCI₃ and TCI₄} on different symbols in that control resource setp.

In one example, the UE can be requested to assume the DM-RS antenna portof 1^(st) symbol in control resource set p is quasi co-located withRS(s) configured in TCI₁, to assume the DM-RS antenna port of 2^(nd)symbol in control resource set p is quasi co-located with RS(s)configured in TCI₂; to assume the DM-RS antenna port of 3^(rd) symbol incontrol resource set p is quasi co-located with RS(s) configured inTCI₃; to assume the DM-RS antenna port of 4^(th) symbol in controlresource set p is quasi co-located with RS(s) configured in TCI₄, and soon so forth.

In one example, a UE can be configured to monitor PDCCH in a searchspace set s associated with a control resource set p. In a search spaceset s, a PDCCH monitoring pattern within a slot, indicating firstsymbol, i₀, of the control resource set within a slot for PDCCHmonitoring, is configured by higher layer parametermonitoringSymbolsWithinSlot. At one slot, to monitor the PDCCHconfigured by search space set s associated with control resource set p,the UE can assume the DM-RS antenna port associated with PDCCH receptionon symbol i₀ is quasi co-located with the RS(s) configured in TCI₁; theUE can assume the DM-RS antenna port associated with PDCCH reception onsymbol i₀+1 is quasi co-located with the RS(s) configured in TCI₂; theUE can assume the DM-RS antenna port associated with PDCCH reception onsymbol i₀+2 is quasi co-located with the RS(s) configured in TCI₃; theUE can assume the DM-RS antenna port associated with PDCCH reception onsymbol i₀+3 is quasi co-located with the RS(s) configured in TCI₄, andso on so forth.

FIG. 14A illustrates an example control resource set 1400 according toembodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the controlresource set 1400 illustrated in FIG. 14A is for illustration only. FIG.14A does not limit the scope of this disclosure to any particularimplementation.

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured with two or more first symbolsof control resource set p within a slot through the configuration of asearch space set s associated with control resource set p. If thecontrol resource set instances of those different first symbols have NOoverlap in time domain, the UE can be requested to apply the configuredmonitoring pattern of configured TCI states on symbol sets indicated byeach first symbol in one slot.

As shown in FIG. 14A, two first symbols 1401 and 1402 are configured formonitoring PDCCH at slot n through a search space set s associated witha control resource set p. The control resource set starting from symbol801 does not have overlap with control resource set starting from 1402.The UE can be requested to apply the monitoring pattern of TCI₁ and TCI₂on symbol 1401 and 1403 for PDCCH detection and the UE can be requestedto apply the monitoring pattern of TCI₁ and TCI₂ on symbol 1402 and 1404for PDCCH detection.

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured with two or more first symbolsof control resource set p within a slot through the configuration of asearch space set s associated with control resource set p. If thecontrol resource set instances of those different first symbols havesome overlap in time domain, the UE can be requested to apply theconfigured monitoring pattern of configured TCI states starting from thesymbol indexed by the configured first symbol with lowest symbol index,i.e., the lowest symbol index configured in monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot.

FIG. 14B illustrates another example control resource 1450 set accordingto embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the controlresource 1450 illustrated in FIG. 14B is for illustration only. FIG. 14Bdoes not limit the scope of this disclosure to any particularimplementation.

As shown in FIG. 14B, a control resource set p is configured with 4consecutive symbols. In the configuration of a search space set sassociated with control resource set p, two first symbols of the controlresource set are configured for PDCCH monitoring pattern within a slot.As shown in FIG. 14B, those two configured first symbols for monitoringPDCCH are symbol 1411 and symbol 1412.

Then the UE may monitor symbols 1411, 1412, 1413, and 1414 of onecontrol resource set for monitoring PDCCH and the UE may monitor symbols1412, 1413, 1414, and 1415 of one control resource set for monitoringPDCCH. Since these four symbols of two control resource set instanceshave overlap in time domain, the UE can be requested to apply theconfigured monitoring pattern of TCIs, {TCI₁, TCI₂, TCI₃ and TCI₄},across all those symbols.

In the example shown in FIG. 14B, the UE can be requested to apply theQCL assumption indicated by TCI₁ for reception of symbol 1411, apply theQCL assumption indicated by TCI₂ for reception of symbol 1412, apply theQCL assumption indicated by TCI₃ for reception of symbol 1413, apply theQCL assumption indicated by TCI₄ for reception of symbol 1414 and applythe QCL assumption indicated by TCI₁ for reception of symbol 1415.

In some embodiments, the beam indication for reception of PDCCH can beconfigured and signaled through a two-level hybrid embodiment. A firstbeam indication can be configured for reception of PDCCH. This a firstbeam indication can be considered as a default beam indication and theUE can be request to assume this beam indication to receive the PDCCH.And a second beam indication can be signaled to provide the beamindication for reception of PDCCH within a short time durationtemporarily. During that time duration, the UE can be requested toreceive the PDCCH with the assumption of a second beam indication andafter the time duration, the UE can be requested to resume to assume afirst beam indication to receive the PDCCH.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example beam indication 1500 according toembodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the beamindication 1500 illustrated in FIG. 15 is for illustration only. FIG. 15does not limit the scope of this disclosure to any particularimplementation.

As shown in FIG. 15, a UE can be configured with 1^(st) beam indicationas default beam indication in 1501. Then the UE can be assume beam 1521is used to transmit the PDCCH. At some time point, the UE can besignaled with a 2^(nd) beam indication in 1502 and a time duration 1503for applying 2^(nd) beam indication can be configured to the UE. Afterreceiving the configuration of 2^(nd) beam indication in 1502, the UEcan be requested to assume beam 1522 is used to transmit the PDCCHtransmission within the time duration 1503. After the time duration1503, the UE can assume the beam 1521 is resumed and the UE can resumeto assume to the beam 1521 is used to transmit the PDCCH starting from1510 after the time duration 1503.

The use case for such a two-level beam indication design for PDCCH is todeal with sudden beam link variation in high frequency system. Thedefault beam can be configured through RRC or MAC-CE to provide adefault beam. It can be updated slowly. When some beam link blockage isdetected due to some temporary environment condition, the gNB canquickly switch the beam of PDCCH to a 2^(nd) Tx beam and switch the beamof PDCCH back after the blockage is gone.

In one embodiment, a control resource set can be configured with a firstspatial QCL configuration though RRC or MAC-CE as a first level of beamindication for UE to monitor PDCCH in search space associated with thiscontrol resource set. The UE can assume the DM-RS antenna port of PDCCHin this control resource set according to the configured a first spatialQCL configuration. The UE can be signaled a second spatial QCLconfiguration through a PHY signaling, for example in a DCI. Whenreceiving the configuration of a second spatial QCL configuration, theUE can be requested to assume a second spatial QCL configuration canoverride a first spatial QCL configuration for a time duration. The timeduration can be configured through higher layer signaling orpreconfigured or predefined.

FIG. 16 illustrates another example beam indication 1600 according toembodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the beamindication 1600 illustrated in FIG. 16 is for illustration only. FIG. 16does not limit the scope of this disclosure to any particularimplementation.

As shown in FIG. 16, the UE can be configured with a first spatial QCLassumption 1611 for PDCCH reception. The UE can be requested to assume afirst spatial QCL assumption to receive the PDCCH. At slot 1601, a DCI1621 can signal a second spatial QCL assumption 1612. After a configuredor preconfigure Ni slots 1631, the UE can begin to assume a secondspatial QCL assumption 1612 to receive PDCCH starting from slot 1602.Before slot 1602 and after receiving DCI 1621 at slot 1601, the UE canbe requested to continue to use a first spatial QCL assumption 1611 toreceive the PDCCH during time duration 1631. Then starting from slot1602, the UE can be requested to apply a second spatial QCL assumption1612 within the time duration 1632. The length of time duration 1632 canbe configured or preconfigured as number of slots, for example N₂ slots.When the time duration 1632 finishes, the UE can resume to use a firstspatial QCL assumption to receive PDCCH starting from slot 1603.

In one embodiment, a DCI format carrying an indicator of a secondspatial QCL configuration detected from PDCCH in a search spaceassociated with a control resource set p can indicate the second spatialQCL configuration for control resource set p.

In one embodiment, N₀-bit carried in DCI format 0_1 and 1_1 can be usedto indicate the information of signaling a second spatial QCLconfiguration. Example of N₀ can be 1, 2, 3, 4, . . . bits.

In one embodiment, a new DCI format can be defined to carry N₀-bit toindicate the information of a second spatial QCL configuration which isused as in examples and embodiments described in this disclosure.

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured with a control resource set pwith a set of TCI states and those TCI states can provide QCLconfiguration for PDCCH reception in control resource set p. A MAC-CEsignaling can be used to select one TCI state from the configured TCIstate set of control resource set p as a first QCL assumption. ThenN₀-bit carried in DCI format can indicate one TCI state out of thatconfigured TCI state set of control resource set p as a second QCLassumption as explained in above examples/embodiments.

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured with a control resource set pwith a first set of TCI states and a second set of TCI states. The TCIstates configured in a first set can be used as a first QCLconfiguration and the TCI states configured in a second set can be usedas a second QCL configuration, which are illustrated in above examplesand embodiment. A MAC-CE signaling can be used to select one TCI statefrom the configured a first TCI state set of control resource set p as afirst QCL assumption. Then N₀-bit carried in DCI format can indicate oneTCI state out of that configured a second TCI state set of controlresource set p as a second QCL assumption as explained in aboveexamples/embodiments. In one example the value of No can depend on thenumber of TCI states configured in a second TCI state set.

In some embodiments, a UE can be configured with more than one Tx beamsfor one SRS (sounding reference signal) resource. If configured, the UEcan be requested to use all the Tx beams configured to that SRS resourceto transmit that SRS resource. This embodiment is useful for the UEswith two or more transmit panels. It can be used to support the uplinktransmission and uplink beam management for UEs with two or moretransmit panels. This embodiment can be extended to other uplinkchannels and signals, except SRS signal. A UE can be configured withmore than one Tx beams for the transmission of PUCCH. A UE can beconfigured with more than one Tx beams for the transmission of PUSCH.

FIG. 17 illustrates an example two transmit panels 1700 according toembodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of two transmitpanels 1700 illustrated in FIG. 17 is for illustration only. FIG. 17does not limit the scope of this disclosure to any particularimplementation.

As illustrated in FIG. 17, a UE A has two transmit panels: panel 1 andpanel 2. On each of these two panels, the UE can formulate 4 differenttransmit beam directions. On panel 1, those four Tx beams are {i₁, i₂,i₃ and i₄}. On panel 2, those four Tx beams are {m₁, m₂, m₃ and m₄}. Forthe transmission of one SRS resource, the gNB can configure the UE A touse two Tx beams, one from panel 1 and one from panel 2. For example,the gNB can configure the UE A to transmit one SRS resource with beams{i₁, m₃} and configure the UE A to transmit another SRS resource withbeams {i₂, m₁}. For example, the gNB can configure the UE A to transmitUE A to transmit one PUCCH resource with beams {i₃, m₂} and to transmitone PUSCH with beams {i₁, m₄}.

The technical advantage of configuring multiple Tx beams for uplinktransmission to reduce the overhead for uplink beam management in thecase of UE with multiple Tx panels. In the example of FIG. 17, there are4 beams on each of those two panels. There are totally 16 combinationsof Tx beams from two different panels. One efficient way to train the Txbeam is to train the beams of each panel separately and then the gNB canselect the “best” combination from the training results. To do that, theUE only need to train 8 Tx beams. In contrast, the UE can train all theTx beam combinations and then the UE would need to train 16 logical Txbeams (each logical beam can contain one Tx beam from panel 1 and one Txbeam from panel 2). It may be found that the resource usage is reducedby 50%.

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured with a SRS resource A and forthe SRS resource A, the UE can be configured with N_(SR)≥1 SRS resourceindexes as the reference of spatial relation. In other word, thefollowing SRS parameter can be configured or indicated or signaled for aSRS resource A: the configuration of the spatial relation betweenN_(SR)≥1 SRS resources and SRS resource A. This parameter can containthe IDs of N_(SR)≥1 SRS resources. When configured, the UE can berequested to apply Tx beam(s) on the transmission of SRS resource Abased on the indicated/configured those N_(SR)≥1 SRS resources.

In one embodiment, if the UE is configured with spatial relationparameter for one SRS resource A which contains N_(SR)≥1 IDs of SRSresources, the UE may transmit the target SRS resource (i.e., SRSresource A) with the same Tx beams used for the transmission of thoseN_(SR)≥1 reference SRS resources simultaneously. In another word, the UEmay transmit the target SRS resource, i.e., SRS resource A, with thesame spatial domain transmission filters used for the transmission ofthose N_(SR)≥1 reference SRS resources simultaneously.

In one embodiment, one SRS resource A can be configured withN_(SRS-ports) SRS ports and the value of N_(SRS-ports) can be 1 or morethan 1. The examples of N_(SRS-ports) can be 1, 2 or 4. When spatialrelation of reference signal(s) is configured to one SRS resource, theUE may determine the mapping between SRS ports and the Tx beam(s)indicated by the configured reference signal(s). Some examples for theUE to transmit a SRS resource with N_(SRS-ports) SRS ports and N_(SR)≥1reference SRS resources for spatial relation are listed below.

In one example, the number of SRS ports N_(SRS-ports) is equal to thenumber reference SRS resources configured as spatial relation. In thisexample, the UE can apply the spatial domain transmission filter of onereference SRS resource to one SRS port of the SRS resource A and the UEcan apply the spatial domain transmission filters used for thetransmission of different reference SRS resources to different SRS portsof the SRS resource A. In one example, SRS resource A is configured with2 SRS ports and configured with two SRS resources {B₁, B₂} as thespatial relation for SRS resource A. Then the UE can be requested toapply the spatial domain transmission filter used to transmit SRSresource B₁ on one SRS port of SRS resource A and the UE can berequested to apply the spatial domain transmission filter used totransmit SRS resource B₂ on another SRS port of SRS resource A.

In one example, the number of SRS ports N_(SRS-ports) is less than thenumber reference SRS resources configured as spatial relation. In thisexample, the UE can be requested apply the spatial domain transmissionfilter(s) used for the transmission of at least one of the configuredreference SRS resources in spatial relation parameter to each of thoseN_(SRS-ports) SRS ports of SRS resource A and the UE can be requested tonot apply the spatial domain transmission filter used for thetransmission of one reference SRS resource to more than one SRS ports ofSRS resource A. In one example, SRS resource A is configured with 2 SRSports and configured with three SRS resources {B₁, B₂, B₃} as thespatial relation for SRS resource A. In one example, the UE can applythe spatial domain transmission filters used to transmit SRS resourcesB₁ and B₂ on one SRS port of SRS resource A the UE can be requested toapply the spatial domain transmission filter used to transmit SRSresource B₃ on another SRS port of SRS resource A.

In one example, the number of SRS ports N_(SRS-ports) can be larger thanthe number reference SRS resources configured as spatial relation. Inthis example, the UE can be requested to apply the spatial domaintransmission filter used for the transmission of every SRS resourceconfigured in spatial relation parameter to at least one port of thoseN_(SRS-ports) SRS ports of SRS resource A. On every SRS port of thoseN_(SRS-ports) SRS ports of SRS resource A, the UE can be requested toonly apply the spatial domain transmission filter used to transmit oneof those reference SRS resources configured in spatial relationparameter. In one example, SRS resource A is configured with 4 SRS portsand configured with two SRS resources {B₁, B₂} as the spatial relationfor SRS resource A. In one example, the UE can apply the spatial domaintransmission filters used to transmit SRS resources B₁ on a first and asecond SRS ports of SRS resource A the UE can be requested to apply thespatial domain transmission filter used to transmit SRS resource B₂ onanother two SRS ports of SRS resource A.

In one embodiment, the mapping between SRS ports of one SRS resource Aand the reference SRS resources configured in spatial relation parametercan be specified or configured. Some examples are listed below.

In one example, the number of SRS ports N_(SRS-ports) is 2 and thenumber reference SRS resources configured as spatial relation is 2 too.The UE can be requested to assume the mapping is: reference SRS resourcewith lowest ID is mapped to SRS port with lowest ID and reference SRSresource with highest ID is mapped to SRS port with highest ID.

In one example, the number of SRS ports N_(SRS-ports) is 4 and thenumber reference SRS resources configured as spatial relation is 2. TheUE can be requested to assume the mapping is: reference SRS resourcewith lowest ID is mapped to two SRS ports with lowest IDs and referenceSRS resource with highest ID is mapped to the two SRS ports with highestIDs.

In one example, the number of SRS ports N_(SRS-ports) is 2 and thenumber reference SRS resources configured as spatial relation is 4. TheUE can be requested to assume the mapping is: two reference SRSresources with lowest IDs are mapped to SRS port with lowest ID and tworeference SRS resources with highest IDs are mapped to SRS port withhighest ID.

In one example, the number of SRS ports N_(SRS-ports) is 1 and thenumber reference SRS resources configured as spatial relation is 2. TheUE can be requested to assume the mapping is: both reference SRSresources are mapped to SRS port.

In one embodiment, for one SRS resource A, a UE can be configured withthe association between configured SRS ports and the SRS resourcesincluded in spatial relation parameter. In one example, a SRS resource Acan be configured with N_(SRS-ports)=4 SRS ports {1000, 1001, 1002,1003} and the configured spatial relation parameter includes 2 SRSresource indexes {B₁, B₂}. The UE is configured/indicated with theassociation between SRS ports and SRS resources {B₁, B₂}: B₁ is mappedto ports {1000, 1001} and B₂ is mapped to ports {1002, 1003}. Then, whentransmitting SRS resource A, the UE can be requested to apply thespatial transmit filter used for B₁ on ports {1000, 1001} and thespatial transmit filter used for B₂ on ports {1002, 1003}. Theassociation between SRS ports and SRS resources in spatial relationparameter can be configured/indicated by one or more of the followingembodiments.

In one embodiment, the association can be signaled by higher layermessage. In one embodiment, a predefined association as a function ofnumber of SRS ports and the number of SRS resources in spatial relationparameter is considered. An example predefined table for association isshown in TABLE 1. The UE can be requested to calculate the associationbased on configured number of SRS ports and number of SRS resourcesconfigured in spatial relation parameter.

TABLE 1 example of association between SRS ports and SRS resources inspatial relation parameter Number of SRS Association: Con- Numberresources in The SRS figuration of SRS spatial relation resources inspatial relation are index ports parameter {B₁}, {B₁, B₂}or {B₁, B₂, B₃,B₄} 0 1 1 B1 is mapped to 1000 1 1 2 B₁ and B₂ are mapped 1000 2 1 4 B₁,B₂, B₃ and B₄ are mapped to 1000 3 2 1 B₁ is mapped 1000 and 1001 4 2 2B₁ is mapped 1000, B₂ is mapped 1001 5 2 4 Alt#1: {B₁ and B₂ are mapped1000, B₃ and B₄ are mapped 1001} Alt#2: {B₁ and B₃ are mapped 1000, B₂and B₄ are mapped 1001} 6 4 1 B₁ is mapped to 1000/1001/1002/1003 7 4 2Alt#1: {B₁ is mapped to 1000/1001, B₂ is mapped to 1002/1003}; Alt#2:{B₁ is mapped to 1000/1002, B₂ is mapped to 1001/1003} 8 4 4 B₁ ismapped to 1000, B₂ is mapped to 1001, B₃ is mapped to 1002, B₄ is mappedto 1003.

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured with multiple SRS sets forbeam management and for each SRS set, the UE can be configured with oneor multiple SRS resources. For a SRS resource A, if multiple referenceSRS resources are included in the spatial relation parameter for SRSresource A, the reference SRS resources in spatial relation parametermay be in different SRS sets and any two of them cannot be in one sameSRS set. The technical reason for this embodiment is because the SRSresources configured in one same SRS set are supposed to be the Tx beamstransmitted from the same UE Tx panel. Since Tx beams are on the samepanel, the UE is not able to use them simultaneously.

A UE can be configured with multiple SRS sets for uplink beammanagement. The multiple SRS set configuration are applicable to thecase of UE with multi-panels. Each SRS set can be used to train the Txbeams of one panel. The SRS resources in same SRS set cannot betransmitted simultaneously but SRS resources from different SRS sets canbe transmitted simultaneously. Then the gNB can configure SRS source Awith spatial relation including multiple SRS resources from differentSRS resource sets.

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured with a parameterSpatialRelation_PUCCH for one PUCCH resource. The parameterSpatialRelation_PUCCH is used indicate the Tx beam information thetransmission on that PUCCH resource. The parameter can contain one ormore than one entries. Each entry can contain one or multiple referencesignal IDs. The reference signals contained in one entry are used toprovide the transmit beam information for that PUCCH resource. If theparameter SpatialRelation_PUCCH has only one entry, then the UE may usethe reference signal IDs contain in that entry to derive the transmitbeam for the PUCCH resource. If the parameter SpatialRelation_PUCCH hasmultiple entries, then a selection command can be used to select one ofthose entries and the UE may use the selected entry to derive the Txbeam for PUCCH.

If one entry in SpatialRelation_PUCCH contains 2 or more SRS resourceIDs, the UE transmits the PUCCH using the spatial domain transmitfilters that are used transmit all the SRS resources contained in thatentry. Those 2 or more SRS resource IDs are selected from different SRSresource sets. In one example, one entry in parameterSpatialRelation_PUCCH contains two SRS resource: SRS1 and SRS2, and SRS1 and SRS 2 are from two different SRS resource sets. If that entry isselected as the spatial relation information for the PUCCH resource, theUE may transmit the PUCCH using both the spatial domain transmit filterused to transmit SRS1 and the spatial domain transmit filter used totransmit SRS2.

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured or indicated with one or moreSRS resources in a parameter SpatialRelation_SRS for one SRS resource(it can be called target SRS resource), which are used to provide Txbeam information for the target SRS resource. And those one or more SRSresources configured in the parameter SpatialRelation_SRS may beselected from different SRS resource sets. If configured, the UE maytransmit the target SRS resource with the spatial domain transmitfilters used to all the SRS resources configured in parameterSpatialRelation_SRS. In one example, one SRS resource A is configuredwith two SRS resource: SRS1 and SRS2, in the parameterSpatialRelation_SRS to provide the Tx beam information for the SRSresource A, and SRS1 and SRS2 are selected from two different SRSresource sets. Then, the UE may transmit the SRS resource A using boththe spatial domain transmit filter used to transmit SRS1 and the spatialdomain transmit filter used to transmit SRS2.

In some embodiments, a UE can be configured or indicated with multipleSRS resource indexes for a PUSCH transmission and the indicated SRSresource indexes can be selected from different SRS sets. Thisembodiment can enable the gNB to select Tx beams from multiple differentUE panels and then ask the UE to use those Tx beams on different Txpanel to transmit the PUSCH.

In one example, one field in physical layer signaling DCI can be used tosignal the information of selected SRS resource indexes for thescheduled PUSCH. In one example, a bit field B_(SRS_ind) with M bit canbe used and the value of M can be M=Σ_(i=1) ^(p)┌log₂ Q_(i)┐ wheretotally there are P SRS sets used for SRS resource selection/indicationand Q_(i) is the number of SRS resources configured in SRS set i. In thefield B_(SRS_ind), the first ┌log₂ Q₁┐ can be used to indicate one SRSresource in SRS set 1, and the next ┌log₁ Q₂┐ bits can be used toindicate one SRS resource in SRS set 2, . . . , and the last ┌log₂Q_(p)┐ bits can be used to indicate one SRS resource in SRS set P.

In another embodiment, one field B_(SRS_ind) With M≥1 bits in physicallayer signaling DCI can be used to signal the information of selectedSRS resource indexes for the scheduled PUSCH. One value of B_(SRS_ind)can correspond to a set of selected SRS resources which can beconfigured through high layer signaling. In this embodiment, the size offield B_(SRS_ind) can be configured or calculated based on higher layerconfiguration. For example, if the number of sets of selected SRSresources combination is M_(P), then the value of M can be M=┌log₂M_(P)┐.

Similarly to the transmission of SRS resource, the UE can also beconfigured with the association between the DM-RS ports in PUSCH and theindicated SRS resources for one PUSCH. The embodiments for SRStransmission described in previous section can be easily re-used toPUSCH with little effort or no effort.

In some implementation scenarios, a UE might have multiple transmitpanels connected to one same transmit chain. Those transmit panels mightpoint to different directions. The UE can switch the connection of thetransmit chain among those transmit panels based on the signalmeasurement. The UE can always use the transmit panel that gives thebest uplink signal quality. mmWave signal is very directional. Thetransmit antenna installed on one side of the cell phone might not beable to cover the signal transmission on the other side.

One valuable design of the mmWave cell phone antenna is to installtransmit antenna on both sides and then connect them to one RF (radiofrequency) chain. The cell phone can switch to use the antenna on oneside based on the orientation of the cell phones and location of thebase station. For example, the cell phone can always use the transmitantenna on one side that faces the base station so that strongest uplinksignal can be achieved. That can be called UE transmit antenna switch ortransmit panel switch.

In some embodiments, a UE can be configured with multiple SRS sets foruplink beam management. The UE can be configured with that the SRSresources in different SRS sets of a subset of configured SRS resourceset can be transmitted simultaneously. The UE can be configured withthat the SRS resources in different SRS set of a subset of configuredSRS set cannot be transmitted simultaneously. This embodiment of SRSconfiguration and transmission is useful to the UEs with multiple panelswitch function. The UE can use the Tx antenna panels connected andswitched to one same transmit chain to transmit the SRS sets in whichSRS resources from different set cannot be transmitted simultaneously.For two SRS sets in which SRS resources from different sets can betransmitted simultaneously, the UE can map these two sets to twotransmit panels connected to different transmit chains. In one example,a UE is configured with 4 SRS sets for uplink beam management {s₁, s₂,s₃ and s₄}. In each of those 4 SRS sets, there are one or multiple SRSresources.

The UE can be configured with the following information: any SRSresource in set s₁ and any SRS resource in set s₂ cannot be transmittedsimultaneously; any SRS resource in set s₃ and any SRS resource in sets₄ cannot be transmitted simultaneously; any SRS resource in set s₁ orin set s₂ and any SRS resource in set s₃ or set s₄ can be transmittedsimultaneously; and/or SRS resources in the same set cannot betransmitted simultaneously.

FIG. 18A illustrates an example RF chain 1800 according to embodimentsof the present disclosure. The embodiment of the RF chain 1800illustrated in FIG. 18A is for illustration only. FIG. 18A does notlimit the scope of this disclosure to any particular implementation.

The SRS configuration embodiment in this example can be applied to a UEexample illustrated in FIG. 18A. As shown in FIG. 18A, a UE B has twotransmit RF chains. RF chain 1 can be connected to two transmit panelsand the UE B can switch the RF chain 1 between panel 1-1 and panel 1-2.RF chain 2 can be connected to two transmit panels and the UE B canswitch the RF chain 1 between panel 2-1 and panel 2-2. On each of those4 panels, the UE can formulate 4 Tx beam. On Panel 1-1, those Tx beamsare {i₁, i₂, i₃, i₄}, and on Panel 1-2, those Tx beams are {i₅, i₆, i₇,i₈}. On Panel 2-1, those Tx beams are {m₁, m₂, M₃, m₄}, and on Panel2-2, those Tx beams are {m₅, m₆, m₇, m₈}. For any uplink transmission,the UE B can choose either one Tx beam from panel 1-1 or one Tx beamfrom panel 1-2 to transmit signal from RF chain 1 and choose either oneTx beam from panel 2-1 or one Tx beam from panel 2-2 to transmit signalfrom RF chain 2.

For the UE B, the SRS for uplink beam management is configured as: 4 SRSsets {s₁, s₂, s₃ and s₄} and in each set there are 4 SRS resources; anySRS resource in set s₁ and any SRS resource in set s₂ cannot betransmitted simultaneously; any SRS resource in set s₃ and any SRSresource in set s₄ cannot be transmitted simultaneously; any SRSresource in set s₁ or in set s₂ and any SRS resource in set s₃ or set s₄can be transmitted simultaneously; and/or SRS resources in same setcannot be transmitted simultaneously.

With such configuration, the UE B can apply the SRS resources in set s₁to the Tx beams of panel 1-1, the SRS resources in set s₂ to the Txbeams of panel 1-2, the SRS resources in set s₃ to the Tx beams of panel2-1 and the SRS resources in set s₄ to the Tx beams of panel 2-2.

FIG. 18B illustrates another example RF chain 1850 according toembodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the RF chain1850 illustrated in FIG. 18B is for illustration only. FIG. 18B does notlimit the scope of this disclosure to any particular implementation.

As shown in FIG. 18B, a UE c has one transmit RF chain that can beconnected to two transmit panels and the UE B can switch the RF chain 1between panel 1-1 and panel 1-2. On each of those 2 panels, the UE canformulate 4 Tx beam. On Panel 1-1, those Tx beams are {i₁, i₂, i₃, i₄},and on Panel 1-2, those Tx beams are {i₅, i₆, i₇, i₈}. For any uplinktransmission, the UE C can choose either one Tx beam from panel 1-1 orone Tx beam from panel 1-2 to transmit signal. For the UE C, the SRS isconfigured for uplink beam management as: 2 SRS sets {s₁, s₂} and ineach set there are 4 SRS resources; any SRS resource in set s₁ and anySRS resource in set s₂ cannot be transmitted simultaneously; and/or SRSresources in same set cannot be transmitted simultaneously.

With such configuration, the UE C can apply the SRS resources in set s₁to the Tx beams of panel 1-1, the SRS resources in set s₂ to the Txbeams of panel 1-2.

FIG. 18C illustrates yet another example RF chain 1870 according toembodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the RF chain1870 illustrated in FIG. 18C is for illustration only. FIG. 18C does notlimit the scope of this disclosure to any particular implementation.

An example of UE for SRS configuration is illustrated in FIG. 18C. Asshown in FIG. 18C, a UE D has two transmit RF chains. RF chain 1 can beconnected to two transmit panels and the UE B can switch the RF chain 1between panel 1-1 and panel 1-2. RF chain 2 is connected to one panel 2.On each of those 3 panels, the UE can formulate 4 Tx beam. On Panel 1-1,those Tx beams are {i₁, i₂, i₃, i₄}, and on Panel 1-2, those Tx beamsare {i₅, i₆, i₇, i₈}. On Panel 2, those Tx beams are {m₁, m₂, m₃, m₄}.

For any uplink transmission, the UE D can choose either one Tx beam frompanel 1-1 or one Tx beam from panel 1-2 to transmit signal from RF chain1 and use panel 2 to transmit signal from RF chain 2. For the UE D, theSRS is configured for uplink beam management as: 3 SRS sets {s₁, s₂, s₃}and in each set there are 4 SRS resources; any SRS resource in set s₁and any SRS resource in set s₂ cannot be transmitted simultaneously; anySRS resource in set s₁ or in set s₂ and any SRS resource in set s₃ canbe transmitted simultaneously; and/or SRS resources in same set cannotbe transmitted simultaneously.

With such configuration, the UE D can apply the SRS resources in set s₁to the Tx beams of panel 1-1, the SRS resources in set s₂ to the Txbeams of panel 1-2, the SRS resources in set s₃ to the Tx beams of panel2.

In another embodiment, a UE can be configured with one or multiplegroups of SRS sets for uplink beam management. In each group of SRS set,there can be one or multiple SRS sets. In each SRS set, there can be oneor multiple SRS resource. The UE can assume one of more of the followingassumptions on the SRS configuration: any one SRS resource in a SRS sets₁ and any one SRS resource in a SRS set s₁ cannot be transmittedsimultaneously if SRS set s₁ and SRS set s₁ are in the same group of SRSsets; any one SRS resource in a SRS set s₁ and any one SRS resource in aSRS set s_(k) can be transmitted simultaneously if SRS set s₁ and SRSset s_(k) are in the same group of SRS sets; and/or any two SRSresources in the same SRS set cannot be transmitted simultaneously.

The aforementioned embodiments can be applied to various UEimplementation cases. For the UE examples shown in FIGS. 18A, 18B, and18C, the SRS may be configured as follows.

In one example, for the UE in example in FIG. 18A, the UE B can beconfigured with: two groups of SRS sets: g₁ and g₂; in group g₁, two SRSsets {s₁, s₂} are configured. In group g₂, two SRS sets {s₃, s₄} areconfigured; and/or in each SRS sets of {s₁, s₂, s₃ and s₄}, the UE canbe configured with 4 SRS resources.

With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 18A, the UE B can apply theSRS resources in set s₁ to the Tx beams of panel 1-1, the SRS resourcesin set s₂ to the Tx beams of panel 1-2, the SRS resources in set s₃ tothe Tx beams of panel 2-1 and the SRS resources in set s₄ to the Txbeams of panel 2-2.

For the UE in example in FIG. 18B, the UE C can be configured with: onegroup of SRS sets: g₁; in group g₁, two SRS sets {s₁, s₂} areconfigured; and/or in each SRS sets of {s₁, s₂}, the UE can beconfigured with 4 SRS resources.

With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 18B, the UE C can apply theSRS resources in set s₁ to the Tx beams of panel 1-1, the SRS resourcesin set s₂ to the Tx beams of panel 1-2. For the UE in example in FIG.18C, the UE D can be configured with: two groups of SRS sets: g₁ and g₂;in group g₁, two SRS sets {s₁, s₂} are configured. In group g₂, one SRSsets {s₃} are configured; and/or in each SRS sets of {s₁, s₂, s₃}, theUE can be configured with 4 SRS resources.

With this configuration, the UE D can apply the SRS resources in set s₁to the Tx beams of panel 1-1, the SRS resources in set s₂ to the Txbeams of panel 1-2, the SRS resources in set s₃ to the Tx beams of panel2.

To support the above configurations, a UE can be requested to report theinformation on the number of transmit chains, the number transmit panelsconnected to each transmit chain that the UE may switch between and thenumber of Tx beams on each panels. For example, the UE B in example ofFIG. 18A can report: the number of Tx chain is 2, the number of transmitpanels connected to one transmit chain is 2 and the number of Tx beam oneach transmit panel is 4. For example, the UE D in example of FIG. 18Ccan report: the number of Tx chain is 2, the number of transmit panelsconnected to one chain is 2 and the number of transmit panel connectedto another chain is 1, the number of Tx beam on each panel is 4.

In one embodiment, the UE can be requested to report one or more of thefollowing information. In one example of number of groups of SRS sets,this is about the information of how many transmit chain the UE has. Forexample, in the example of FIG. 18B, the UE C can report number of groupof SRS sets is 2.

In one example of number of SRS sets in each group, this is about theinformation of how many antenna panel the UE can switch for one transmitchain. In the example of FIG. 18C, the UE C can report number of SRS setfor a group is 2 and number of SRS set for another group is 1.

Number SRS resources in each SRS set; In the example of FIG. 18C, the UEcan report the number of SRS resource in a SRS set is 4.

The information on number of groups/sets/SRS resources can be used bythe system to properly configure the SRS transmission for uplink beammanagement. Different UE can have different antenna implementation. Theprovided embodiment can cover all the possible UE antenna implementationscenarios.

One slot can only accommodate limited number of SRS resources. Forexample, there are totally 14 symbols in one slot and only the last 6symbols can be used for SRS transmission, as defined in NRspecification. The configuration parameters of an aperiodic SRS includestarting OFDM symbol and the number of OFDM symbol (e.g., 1, 2 or 4 inNR specification). The transmission of aperiodic SRS is triggered by SRSrequest field in a DCI and each SRS request filed value corresponds toone or multiple SRS resource sets configured in associated higher layerparameter aperiodicSRS-ResourceTrigger Generally the triggering DCI issent at slot n and then the triggered SRS resources are sent in slotn+m, where m is called as slot offset and configured per SRS resourceset. All these design restrict more than N (for example N=6) SRSresources within one SRS set may not configured for uplink beammanagement.

However, the assumption of design of SRS for uplink beam management is:the SRS resources in one set are used to implement one round of beamsweeping. However, in some case, there may be more Tx beams for oneround of beam sweeping. That would mostly happen for those CPE-type,pad-type and laptop-type UE, where more Tx beam can be formulatedgenerally. Then the issue is how to support beam sweeping for those UEs.

To resolve the above issue, one solution is to use the embodiments andembodiments provided in previous section in this disclosure. In oneexample, the restriction of SRS resource number is N=6 and a UE E has 16Tx beams on one Tx panel. For this UE, the SRS can be configured foruplink beam management according to the embodiment provided in thisdisclosure as follows. The gNB configures 3 sets of SRS resources foruplink beam management. It can be further configured that the SRSresources from any two of these three sets cannot be transmittedsimultaneously.

In one embodiment, the gNB can configure these three SRS sets in thesame group of SRS set, which can implicitly indicate the UE that the SRSresources from any two of these three sets cannot be transmittedsimultaneously. Two SRS sets have 6 SRS resources and the other SRSresource set has 4 SRS resources. Based on the configuration, the UE canapply those 16 Tx beams of one Tx panel to all those 16 SRS resourcesconfigured in those three SRS sets. When triggering those three sets,the different slot offset can be configured for them and then the UE cantransmit all those 16 SRS resources in three different slots to completeone round of beam sweeping.

Another embodiment to resolve the above issue is providing some newtriggering embodiments so that more than N SRS resources can beconfigured in one set and thus one complete round of beam sweeping withmore Tx beam directions may be finished for training.

In one embodiment, one or multiple slot offset can be configured to oneSRS set for uplink beam management. Assume the maximal number of SRSresources in one slot is N. If the number of SRS resources in one setfor uplink beam management is less than or equal to N, one slot offsetis configured to the SRS resource set. If the number of SRS resources inone set for uplink beam management is larger than N, then two or moreslots offsets may be configured to the SRS resource set.

A first configured slot offset is applied to the first N SRS resourcesin that set and a second configured slot offset is applied to the secondN SRS resources in that set. When this SRS set is triggered, each SRSresource is transmitted in the slot with corresponding configured slotoffset. The number of slots offset configured to a SRS set can be

$N_{off} = \left\lceil \frac{N_{SRS}}{N} \right\rceil$

where N is the maximal number SRS resources for uplink beam managementthat can be transmitted in one slot, N_(SRS) is the number of SRSresources configured in the SRS set for uplink beam management and thenN_(off) is the number of slot offsets configured to that set.

In one example, the restriction of number of SRS in one slot is N=6 andassume the UE has 16 Tx beams. The gNB can configure one SRS set with 16SRS resources {srs₁, srs₂, srs₁₆} and three slots offsets {O₁, O₂ andO₃} for the set. The UE can be requested to assume the first slot offsetO₁ is applied to the first N=6 SRS resources {srs₁, srs₂, . . . , srs₆},and the second slot offset O₂ is applied to the second N=6 SRS resources{srs₇, srs₈, . . . , srs₁₂}, and the third slot offset O₃ is applied tothe rest SRS resources {srs₁₃, srs₁₄, srs₁₅, srs₁₆}. At slot n, a DCItriggers the transmission of that SRS set. Then the UE can transmit theSRS resources {srs₁, srs₂, . . . , srs₆} at slot n+O₁, and transmit theSRS resources {srs₇, srs₈, . . . , srs₁₂} at slot n+O₂ and transmit theSRS resources {srs₁₃, srs₁₄, srs₁₅, srs₁₆} at slot n+O₃.

In one alternative for the embodiment, the slot offset for one SRS setcan be configured as one absolute slot offset and one or multipledifferential slot offset. In previous example, the UE can be configuredwith one slot offset O₁ and two differential slot offset ΔO₂ and Δ O₃.The UE can assume the slot offset for the first N=6 SRS resources {srs₁,srs₂, . . . , srs₆} is configured O₁ and the differential slot offsetΔO₂ is slot offset between the transmission of first N=6 SRS resources{srs₁, srs₂, . . . , srs₆} and the second N=6 SRS resources {srs₇, srs₈,. . . , srs₁₂}, and the differential slot offset ΔO₃ is slot offsetbetween the transmission of the second N=6 SRS resources {srs₇, srs₈,srs₁₂} and the rest SRS resources {srs₁₃, srs₁₄, srs₁₅, srs₁₆}. At slotn, a DCI triggers the transmission of that SRS set. Then the UE cantransmit the SRS resources {srs₁, srs₂, . . . , srs₆} at slot n+O₁, andtransmit the SRS resources {srs₇, srs₈, . . . , srs₁₂} at slot n+O₁+ΔO₂and transmit the SRS resources {srs₁₃, srs₁₄, srs₁₅, srs₁₆} at slotn+O₁+ΔO₂+ΔO₃.

In some scenarios, a UE has extra transmit power limitation on sometransmit beam directions for example due to regulation requirement. Inone example, a UE can have N_(s)=8 Tx beam directions and the configuredtransmit power is P_(CMAX). Due to the regulation on transmit powerlimitation on some particular transmit beam directions, the UE can befurther configured with transmit power backoff for one or more transmitbeam directions. For example, the UE can be configured with power backoff P_(backoffΔ) for some transmit beam direction i. Then if the UEtransmits any uplink signals on beam direction i, the UE may apply theconfigured power back off P_(backoffΔ) when calculating the uplinktransmit power for those uplink signals.

In such scenarios, the system would meet an issue of Tx beam indicationfor UE uplink transmission. For a UE with beam correspondence, the gNBcan indicate the UE to use one “best” downlink beam for the uplinktransmission and the gNB can select the best downlink beam based on thebeam reporting. However, the reported best Tx beam by UE only means thebest beamforming gain and does not mean the best beamforming is the bestTx beam for uplink transmission due to the power limitation on that beamdirection. To resolve this issue, the UE may be requested to take intoaccount the power backoff on some particular Tx beam direction.

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured to select and report Tx beamswith adjusted L1-RSRP. The adjusted L1-RSRP measurement can becalculated with the measured L1-RSRP of one TRP Tx beam and the powerbackoff configured to the UE Tx beam direction that corresponds to theUE Rx beam used to receive this reported TRP Tx beam. In one example,the adjusted L1-RSRP of one reported TRP Tx beam can be calculated as:if the UE Tx beam corresponding to the UE Rx beam used to receive thisTRP Tx beam is configured with power backoff P_(backoffΔ), then theadjusted L1-RSRP is =measured L1-RSRP−P_(backoffΔ); and if the UE Txbeam corresponding to the UE Rx beam used to receive this reported TRPTx beam is not configured with power backoff, then the adjustedL1-RSRP=measured L1-RSRP.

A UE can be configured with a CSI-ReportConfig with a higher layerparameter reportquantity set to “csi-adjusted RSRP” or“ssb-Index-adjusted RSRP” to indicate that the UE may report adjustedL1-RSRP that is calculated based on measured L1-RSRP and the powerbackoff configured to particular UE Tx beam direction. With suchreporting configuration, the UE can be configured to measure a set ofCSI-RS resources and report one or more selected CRI (CSI-RS resourceindicator) and the information of their corresponding adjusted L1-RSRPvalues. The UE can be configured to measure a set of SS/PBCH blocks andreports one or more SSBRI (SS/PBCH block indicator) and the informationof their corresponding adjusted L1-RSRP values.

In one embodiment, the UE can be configured to measure one or multipleCSI-RS resources and/or SS/PBCH blocks. The UE can first measure theL1-RSRP of those configured CSI-RS resources and/or SS/PBCH blocks. Thenthe UE can adjust each measured L1-RSRP according power limitationconfigured to the UE Tx beam corresponding to the UE Rx beam used tomeasure that L1-RSRP. Then the UE can select CSI-RS resources and/orSS/PBCH blocks based on the adjusted L1-RSRP. If the UE is configured toreport one CRI (or SSBRI), the UE can report the adjusted L1-RSRP of theselected CRI (or SSBRI). If the UE is configured to report multiple CRIs(or SSBRIs), the UE can report the largest adjusted L1-RSRP anddifferential value of the adjusted L1-RSRP of other reported CRIs (orSSBRIs). The differential value is calculated with a reference to thelargest adjusted L1-RSRP.

In some embodiments, a UE can be configured with a one-beam operationmode. When one-beam operation mode is configured, the UE can assume onesame Tx beam is used for all the transmission of PDCCH and PDSCH, andthe UE can assume one same UE Tx beam may be used for all thetransmission of PUSCH and PUCCH.

The aforementioned embodiment is useful for millimeter-wave (mmWave)system to simplify the system operation. In an mmWave, most likely thebest analog Tx beam might be the same for all the carriers and all thechannel in the same band. Therefore, using separate signaling toconfigure or indicate the Tx beam for each PDCCH, each PDSCH, each PUSCHand each PUCCH might not be necessary. Using a one-beam operation modecan drastically reduce the system operation complexity and the overheadof control signaling and thus higher data throughput can be expected.

When a UE is configured with one-beam operation mode, followingalternatives for UE operation is provided.

In one example, the UE can assume one same configured/indicated TRP Txbeam a is used for all the transmission of PDCCH and PDSCH. The UE canalso assume the UE Tx beam corresponding to the Rx beam that is used toreceive the configured/indicated TRP Tx beam a to transmit all thetransmission of PUSCH and PUCCH.

In another example, the UE can be configured with a TRP Tx beam a₁ and aUE Tx beam b₁. The UE can assume to the TRP Tx beam a₁ is used totransmit all the PDCCH and PDSCH and the UE can assume to use UE Tx beamb₁ to transmit PUSCH and PUCCH.

In yet another example, the UE can assume all the PDCCH are transmittedwith one same configured TRP Tx beam a₁ and all the PDSCH aretransmitted with one same configured TRP Tx beam a₂.

In yet another example, the UE can assume to transmit all the PUSCH withone configured UE Tx beam b₁ and transmit all the PUCCH with oneconfigured UE Tx beam b₂.

In yet another example, the UE can assume one same TRP Tx beam used forall the PDSCH transmission and the corresponding UE Tx beam used for allthe PUSCH transmission.

In yet another example, the UE can assume one same TRP Tx beam used forall the PDCCH transmission and the corresponding UE Tx beam used for allthe PUCCH transmission.

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured with a high layer parameterone-beam-operation-mode for example, in RRC. The value ofone-beam-operation-mode being set to “On” can indicate that the UE maybe in a one beam operation mode. The UE can assume a same QCL Type-D forall the UE-specific control resource sets in the bandwidth parts of aserving cell. The UE can assume a same QCL Type-D for all theUE-specific control resource sets and all the UE-specific PDSCH in thebandwidth parts of a serving cell. The UE can be configured with onereference signal ID (for example, one CSI-RS resource index, or oneSS/PBCH block index) as the QCL Type-D source for this one-beamoperation mode. The UE can assume the configured RS ID is the QCL type-Dfor all the UE-specific control resource sets and all the UE-specificPDSCH in the bandwidth parts of a serving cell. The UE can assume theconfigured RS ID is the spatial relation source for all the PUSCHtransmission and all the PUCCH resources in the bandwidth parts of aserving cell.

In one example, if the one-beam operation mode is configured “On,” theUE can be configured with one RS ID as the Tx beam information for PDCCHand PUCCH. The UE may assume the configured RS ID is the source of QCLType-D for all the control resource sets for monitoring PDCCH in thebandwidth parts of a serving cell and the UE may assume the configuredRS ID is the source of spatial Relation for transmission in all thePUCCH resources in the bandwidth parts of a serving cell.

In one example, if the one-beam operation mode is configured “On,” theUE can be configured with one RS ID as the Tx beam information for PDSCHand PUSCH. The UE may assume that configured RS ID is the source of QCLType-D for the DM-RS of all the UE-specific PDSCH in the bandwidth partsof a serving cell and the UE may assume that configured RS ID is thesource of spatial Relation for transmission in all the PUSCHtransmission in the bandwidth parts of a serving cell.

The RS ID can be configured through RRC message. The RS ID can beindicated in a MAC-CE message.

In wireless communication, the gNB can transmit one or multiple CSI-RSresources for UE to measure the Tx beam quality carried by those CSI-RSresources. In one example, the gNB can transmit multiple CSI-RSresources and apply different Tx beams on those different CSI-RSresources and then the UE can measure L1-RSRP (or L1-RSRQ, or SINR) ofthose CSI-RS resources and then reports the CSI-RS resource index thathas the largest measurement metric. In another example. The gNB canrepeat the transmission of one same Tx beam so that the UE can measurethe quality of multiple different Rx beams with respect to the same Txbeam so that the UE can find the best Rx beam for this selected Tx beam.In this section, a new embodiment is provided so that the gNB canefficiently implement this function with least signal resource

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured with a parameter, noneFDM, forone CSI-RS resource configuration A to indicate whether other signalsare multiplexed in the same OFDM symbol where this CSI-RS resource A istransmitted. If a UE is configured that one the symbols where CSI-RSresource A is transmitted, no other signals are transmitted, the UE canuse a time-domain property of those symbols to implement the function ofRx beam refinement.

For example for a CSI-RS resource with one port and density=3RE/RB/port, the OFDM symbol where CSI-RS resource is transmitted can bepartitioned into 4 repetition and the UE can apply different Rx beam onthose repetition to measure the quality of different Rx beam withrespect to the same Tx beam carried by this CSI-RS resource.

In one embodiment, a parameter for which the UE may assume non-zerotransmission power for CSI-RS resource are configured via higher layerparameter NZP-CSI-RS-Resource for each CSI-RS resource configuration:nonFDM, this parameter can define whether other downlink signals aremultiplexed on the same OFDM symbol where this CSI-RS resource istransmitted.

In one example, if this parameter is set “On,” the UE can assume noother downlink signals are multiplexed in the same OFDM symbol wherethis CSI-RS resource is sent.

In one example, the UE can expect that only CSI-RS resource with 1 portcan be configured with the parameter nonFDM set to “On.” The technicalreason is because CSI-RS resource with 2 or more ports cannot result inthe property of repetition in time domain. Therefore, it does not makesense to configure this parameter to the CSI-RS resource with 2 or moreports to implement this feature.

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured with a set of non-zero powerCSI-RS resources and this set can be configured with a parameter nonFDM.When the parameter nonFDM is set to “On,” the UE may assume that on thesymbols where the CSI-RS resources within this CSI-RS resource set aretransmitted, no other downlink signals are transmitted within thebandwidth part of that corresponding CSI-RS resource. The UE can expectthe CSI-RS resources within a set configured with nonFDM being set to“On” can only be configured with one port.

In one implementation example, the gNB can configure multiple CSI-RSresource with 1 port on the same OFDM symbol and those CSI-RS resourcesare mapped to different REs (resource elements). Different frequencydomain location offset are configured to those CSI-RS resources so thatthe REs occupied by those CSI-RS resources are evenly scattered alongfrequency domain. In one example, 3 CSI-RS resources {i₁, i₂, i₃} with 1port and density 1 RE/RB/port may be configured on the same OFDM symbol.For CSI-RS resources {i₁, i₂, i₃}, the frequency domain offset k=0, 4,and 8 is configured for them, respectively.

With such configuration, every 4 REs are occupied by CSI-RS and the REsoccupied by CSI-RS signals are evenly scattered along frequency domain.If no other signals are transmitted on this symbol, then this OFDMsymbol has 4 repetitions in time domain. TABLE 2 shows examples for sucha configuration.

TABLE 2 Configuration Con- Number of figuration CSI-RS index resourcesDensity Frequency domain offsets 0 1 1 0~12 1 2 1 {0, 6}/{1, 7}/{2,8}/{3, 9}/{4, 10}/{5, 11} 2 3 1 {0, 4, 8}/{1, 5, 9}/{2, 6, 10}/{3, 7,11} 3 4 1 {0, 3, 6, 9}/{1, 4, 7, 10}/{2, 5, 8, 11} 4 1 3 0~12 5 2 3 {0,2}/{1, 3} 6 1 ½ Any REs offset allowed in the spec 7 2 ½ 12 REsseparation between frequency   offset 8 3 ½ 8 REs separation betweenfrequency offset 9 4 ½ 6 REs separation between frequency domain offset10 6 ½ 4 REs separation between frequency domain 11 8 ½ 3 REs separationbetween frequency domain

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured with a set of non-zero powerCSI-RS resources and this set can be configured with a parameter nonFDM.All the CSI-RS resources within this set is configured with port=1. Whenthe parameter nonFDM is set to “On,” the UE may assume the followingtransmission status: on the symbols where the CSI-RS resources withinthis CSI-RS resource set are transmitted, no other downlink signals aretransmitted within the bandwidth part of the CSI-RS within this set; andon each OFDM symbol where one or more CSI-RS resources within this setare transmitted, the UE can assume only one or more CSI-RS resourcesignal are transmitted and the UE can assume no other signals aretransmitted. The other signals include all the PDSCH, all the PDCCH, allDM-RS, TRS, PT-RS, SS/PBCH block and CSI-RS resources configured in anyother CSI-RS resource sets.

For semi-persistent CSI-RS, one embodiment to configure the parameternonFDM is through RRC signaling. Another embodiment to configure theparameter nonFDM is through the MAC-CE activation message. In oneembodiment, in the MAC-CE activation message that activates thetransmission of a set of CSI-RS resources, a parameter nonFDM can besignaled for the activated CSI-RS resource set. In another embodiment,in the MAC-CE activation message that activates the transmission of aset of CSI-RS resources, the parameter nonFDM can be indicated for eachof the CSI-RS resource within the activated CSI-RS resource set.

For aperiodic CSI-RS, one embodiment to configure the parameter nonFDMis through RRC signaling and another embodiment to configure theparameter is through the triggering DCI (downlink control informationelement). In one embodiment, for a CSI triggering state configured inhigher layer, the parameter nonFDM may be configured to each CSI-RSresource set associated with this CSI triggering state. When thistriggering state is triggered in one DCI, the UE can read the value ofparameter nonFDM configured to the CSI-RS resource set associated withthe triggering state indicated in the DCI.

In mmWave wireless communications, a gNB and a UE generally have one ormore antenna panels. On each antenna panel, the gNB and the UE canformulate multiple analog beam directions. For the communication betweengNB and one UE, one Tx beam may be selected from each panel of gNB andone Rx beam from each panel of UE. And the gNB is going to use theselected “best” Tx beams to transmit signal, for example, controlchannel PDCCH and data transmission PDSCH, some reference signals CSI-RSand the UE is going to use the selected “best” Rx beam to receive thosesignals. A few examples for such scenarios are shown in FIGS. 19-21.

In FIG. 19, a gNB has two transmit panels (Tx panel): Tx panel 1 and Txpanel 2. On each of panels, the gNB can formulate multiple transmitbeams. A UE-1 has two receive panels (Rx panel): Rx panel 1 and Rx panel2. On each Rx panel, the UE-1 can formulate multiple different receivebeams. For the transmission from gNB to UE-1, the gNB can select one Txbeam from Tx panel 1 and one Tx beam from Tx panel 2 to transmit thesignals that are targeted to UE-1. And the UE-1 can choose one Rx beamfrom Rx panel 1 and one Rx beam from Rx panel 2 to receive the signalfrom the gNB. To transmit the signals, the gNB can use one Tx beam fromonly one of those two panels: Tx panel 1 and Tx panel 2 or use Tx beamfrom both panels. At the receiver side, the UE-1 can use one Rx fromonly one of those two panels or use two Rx beams from both panels (oneRx beam in each of those two Rx panels) to receive the signal.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example multi-beam operation scenario 1900according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment ofthe multi-beam operation scenario 1900 illustrated in FIG. 19 is forillustration only. FIG. 19 does not limit the scope of this disclosureto any particular implementation.

Tx beams is selected among multiple available beam directions on onepanel. In the example of FIG. 19, there are totally 8 available Tx beamdirections on Tx panel 1: {a₁, a₂, . . . , a₈} and there are totally 8available Tx beam directions on Tx panel 2: {b₁, b₂, . . . , b₈}. Thereare totally 4 available Rx beam directions on Rx panel 1 of UE-1: {i₁,i₂, . . . , i₄} and totally 4 Rx beam directions on Rx panel 2 of UE-1:{m₁, m₂, . . . , m₄}. For the transmission from gNB to UE-1, it may beused to one from {a₁, a₂, . . . , a₈} and one from {b₁, b₂, b₈} and theUE-1 needs to select one from {i₁, i₂, . . . , i₄} and one from {m₁, m₂,. . . , m₄}.

To enable selecting the beams, the gNB can transmit some referencesignals from different Tx beam direction for the UE-1 to measure andthen the UE-1 can select the “best” Tx beam and also select the “best”Rx beams.

FIG. 20 illustrates another example multi-beam operation scenario 2000according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment ofthe multi-beam operation scenario 2000 illustrated in FIG. 20 is forillustration only. FIG. 20 does not limit the scope of this disclosureto any particular implementation.

As illustrated in FIG. 20, the gNB has four Tx panels and there aremultiple Tx beam directions available on each Tx panel. The gNB canselect and use one Tx beam from each Tx panel for signal transmission.

FIG. 21 illustrates yet another example multi-beam operation scenario2100 according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodimentof the multi-beam operation scenario 2100 illustrated in FIG. 21 is forillustration only. FIG. 21 does not limit the scope of this disclosureto any particular implementation.

As illustrated in FIG. 21, the gNB have two TRPs and each TRP has two Txpanels and there are multiple Tx beam directions available on each Txpanel. The gNB can select and use one Tx beam from each Tx panel of eachTRP for signal transmission.

The UE can measure and report the RSRQ (reference signal receivedquality) of one Tx beam. The RSRQ can also be called L1-RSRQ. The UE canmeasure and report the SINR (signal to interference and noise ratio) ofone Tx beam. The SINR can also be called L1-SINR.

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured to measure to measure M (forexample=16) Tx beams and then reports N (for example=2) selected Txbeams and the corresponding SINR measurement. The UE can measure SINR byassuming N data stream are transmitted with the selected N Tx beams andeach data stream are transmitted with one of the selected Tx beams.

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured to measure M (for example=16)CSI-RS resources {CRI_RS1, CSI_RS2, . . . , CSI_RSM}. And the UE can beconfigured to report one or multiple sets of N (for example 2) selectedCRIs and the corresponding SINR measurement that is measured by assumingeach data stream is transmitted with the selected CRI. In one example,the UE can report two CRIs in one reported set {CRI_(i), CRI_(j)} andthe UE also reports the SINR value that is calculated by assuming onedata stream is sent with the same spatial domain transmit filter used totransmit CRI_(i) and another data stream is sent with the same spatialdomain transmit filter used to transmit CRI_(j).

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured to measure M (for example=16)CSI-RS resources {CRI_RS1, CSI_RS2, . . . , CSI_RSM}. And the UE can beconfigured to report one or multiple (N_(set)) sets of selected CRIs andthe corresponding SINR measurement that is measured from the selectedCRI in the corresponding reporting set. The UE can be configured toreport up to N CRIs in each reporting set. For one reporting set withN_(s) (≤N) reported CRIs, the UE can measure the SINR based on thereported CRI(s) in that set and the SINR is calculated by assuming N_(s)data streams are sent and each of those data streams is transmitted withthe same spatial domain transmit filter used to transmit one of thosereported CRI in the reporting set. In one example, a UE can beconfigured to report N_(set)=4 sets of selected CRIs and in each set,the UE can report up to N=2 CRIs. Then the UE can report: {CRI_(a1),CRI_(a2), SINR₁}, {CRI_(b1), CRI_(b2), SINR₂}, {CRI_(c1), CRI_(c2),SINR₃}, {CRI_(d1), CRI_(d2), SINR₄}, where the SINR is calculated asfollows.

In one example, the SINR1 is the SINR value calculated by assuming afirst data stream is sent with the same spatial domain transmit filterused to transmit CRI_(a1) and a second data stream is sent with the samespatial domain transmit filter used to transmit CRI_(a2).

In another example, the SINR2 is the SINR value calculated by assuming afirst data stream is sent with the same spatial domain transmit filterused to transmit CRI_(b1) and a second data stream is sent with the samespatial domain transmit filter used to transmit CRI_(b2).

In yet another example, the SINR3 is the SINR value calculated byassuming a first data stream is sent with the same spatial domaintransmit filter used to transmit CRI_(c1) and a second data stream issent with the same spatial domain transmit filter used to transmitCRI_(c2).

In yet another example, the SINR4 is the SINR value calculated byassuming a first data stream is sent with the same spatial domaintransmit filter used to transmit CRI_(d1) and a second data stream issent with the same spatial domain transmit filter used to transmitCRI_(d2).

In yet another example, in one reporting set, the UE can report only oneselected CRI. In this case, the UE calculate the SINR by assuming afirst data stream is sent with the same spatial domain transmit filterused to transmit the reported CRI.

In one embodiment, a UE is configured to report up to N (for example=2)CRIs in one reporting set and the UE can only report one selected CRIfor one reporting set, then the UE may report one special bit status toindicate that the corresponding CRI report bit-field is not used.

An example of reporting CRI and SINR for the configuration of N_(set)=4sets of selected CRIs and in each set, the UE can report up to N=2 CRIsis shown in TABLE 3. In the TABLE 3, CRI#1 and #2 are reported CRI in afirst reporting set and SINR#1 is the corresponding measured SINR value,CRI#3 and #4 are reported CRI in a second reporting set and SINR#2 isthe corresponding measured SINR value, CRI#5 and #6 are reported CRI ina third reporting set and SINR#3 is the corresponding measured SINRvalue and CRI#7 and #8 are reported CRI in a forth reporting set andSINR#4 is the corresponding measured SINR value.

TABLE 3 CRI report CSI report number CSI fields CSI report #n CRI #1 CRI#2 CRI #3 CRI #4 CRI #5 CRI #6 CRI #7 CRI #8 SINR#1 SINR#2 SINR#3 SINR#4

If the UE selects less than N reported CRIs in one reporting set, the UEmay report special value in the bit-field where no CRI is reported. Forexample, if the UE only selects one CRI for a forth reporting set, thenthe UE can report one CRI value in CRI #7 field and report one specialvalue in the field of CRI #8 to indicate that no CRI is reported in thefield of CRI #8, and the SINR value reported in the field of SINR #4 iscalculated by assuming one data stream is sent with the same spatialdomain transmit filter used to transmit CRI reported in field of CRI #7.

In one embodiment, the UE can be configured with two Resource settings,a first Resource setting and a second resource setting. The CSI-RSresources configured in a first Resource setting are used for channelmeasurement and the reference signal resources configured in a secondResource setting are used for interference measurement. The UE can beconfigured to report one or multiple (N_(set)) sets of up to N CRIs thatare selected from the CRI-RS resources configured in a first Resourcesetting and the corresponding SINR measurement for each reported set.For each reporting set, the UE calculate the reported SINR by assumingone data stream is sent with the same spatial domain transmit filterused to transmit one of those reported CRIs and also measuring theinterference from the associated RS resource configured in a secondResource setting.

In one embodiment, the UE can be configured with two Resource settings,a first Resource setting and a second resource setting. In each Resourcesetting, one or multiple CSI-RS resources are configured. The UE can beconfigured to report one or multiple (N_(set)) sets of up to N=2 CRIsand corresponding SINR measurement for each reporting set. In eachreporting set, the UE can report one CRI selected from the CSI-RSresources configured in a first Resource setting or one CRI selectedfrom the CSI-RS resources configured in a second Resource setting or twoCRIs including one selected from the CSI-RS resources configured in afirst Resource setting and another one selected from the CSI-RSresources configured in a second Resource setting. In each reportingset, the SINR is calculated by assuming one data stream is sent with thesame spatial domain transmit filter used to send the reported CRI.

In one embodiment, the UE can be configured with three Resourcesettings, a first Resource setting and a second resource setting and athird resource setting. In each of a first Resource setting and a secondresource setting, one or multiple CSI-RS resources are configured. In athird Resource setting, RS resources for interference measurement areconfigured. The UE can be configured to report one or multiple (N_(set))sets of up to N=2 CRIs and corresponding SINR measurement for eachreporting set. In each reporting set, the UE can report one CRI selectedfrom the CSI-RS resources configured in a first Resource setting or oneCRI selected from the CSI-RS resources configured in a second Resourcesetting or two CRIs including one selected from the CSI-RS resourcesconfigured in a first Resource setting and another one selected from theCSI-RS resources configured in a second Resource setting. In eachreporting set, the SINR is calculated by assuming one data stream issent with the same spatial domain transmit filter used to send thereported CRI and assuming interference is measured from the associatedRS resource(s) configured in a third resource setting.

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured to measure two sets of CSI-RSresources, a first set of CSI-RS resources and a second set of CSI-RSresources.

In one example, the UE can be configured to report N₁≥1 CRI pairs{CRI_(a), CRI_(b)} and the corresponding SINR value SINR_(ab), where oneof the two CRIs, CRI_(a) is selected from a first set and CRI_(b) isselected from a second set. For example CRI_(a)=n (n=0, 1, 2, . . . )indicates the (n+1)-th CSI-RS resource configured in a first set andCRI_(b)=n (n=0, 1, 2, . . . ) indicates the (n+1)-th CSI-RS resourceconfigured in a second set. The reported SINR value, SINR_(ab), can beminimum SINR of SINR jointly measured from reported CRI_(a), andCRI_(b). The SINR can be jointly measured by aggregating the CSI-RSresource indicated by CRI_(a) and CRI-RS resource indicated by CRI_(b).In one instance, SINR_(ab), can be average SINR of SINRs jointlymeasured from jointly measured from CSI-RS resource in a first set andCSI-RS resource set in a second set, which are indicated by the reportedCRI. In another instance, SINR_(ab), can be maximal SINR of SINRsjointly measured from jointly measured from CSI-RS resource in a firstset and CSI-RS resource set in a second set, which are indicated by thereported CRI.

In another example, the UE can be configured to report N₁≥1 CRI pairs{CRI_(a), CRI_(b)} and the measured SINR of reported CRIs {SINR_(a),SINR_(b)}, where SINRa is the SINR measured from CRIa and SINR_(b) isthe SINR measured from CRI_(b). The SINR can be jointly measured byaggregating the CSI-RS resources indicated by CRI_(a) and CRI-RSresource indicated by CRI_(b).

In yet another example, the SINR_(a) and SINR_(b) can be measuredseparately from each CSI-RS resource.

In one embodiment, for two selected CSI-RS resource, CRI_(a) from afirst set and CRI_(b) from a second set, the UE can calculate the SINRas follows: the UE can calculate the SINR of, CRI_(a), CSI-RS resourceselected from a first set by assuming interference measurement from,CRI_(b), CSI-RS resource selected from a second set; and/or the UE cancalculate the SINR of, CRI_(b), CSI-RS resource selected from a secondset by assuming interference measurement from, CRI_(a), CSI-RS resourceselected from a first set.

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured to measure two sets of CSI-RSresources, a first set of CSI-RS resources and a second set of CSI-RSresources.

In one example, the UE can be configured to report N₁≥1 CRIs and thecorresponding SINR value SINR_(ab). Where each CRI indicates CSI-RSresources in both CSI-RS resource sets. For example CRI=n (n=0, 1, 2, .. . ) indicates the (n+1)-th CSI-RS resource configured in a first setand the (n+1)-th CSI-RS resource configured in a second set.

In another example, the reported SINR value, SINR_(ab), can be minimumSINR of SINR jointly measured from CSI-RS resource in a first set andCSI-RS resource set in a second set, which are indicated by the reportedCRI. In one instance, SINR_(ab), can be average SINR of SINRs jointlymeasured from jointly measured from CSI-RS resource in a first set andCSI-RS resource set in a second set, which are indicated by the reportedCRI. In another instance, SINR_(ab), can be maximal SINR of SINRsjointly measured from jointly measured from CSI-RS resource in a firstset and CSI-RS resource set in a second set, which are indicated by thereported CRI.

In one example, the SINR can be jointly measured by aggregating theCSI-RS resources in a first set and in a second set, which are indicatedby the reported CRI.

In one example, the UE can report CRI and the corresponding two SINRvalues, {SINR_(a), SINR_(b)}, where SINRa is the SINR measured fromCSI-RS resource in a first set indicated by the reported CRI andSINR_(b) is the SINR measured from CSI-RS resource in a second setindicated by the reported CRI. The SINR can be jointly measured byaggregating the CSI-RS resources in a first set indicated by CRI andCRI-RS resource in a second set indicated by CRI.

In one example, the SINR_(a) and SINR_(b) can be measured separatelyfrom each CSI-RS resource.

For the aforementioned measurement and reporting embodiments, a UE canbe configured with a Reporting setting with parameter Reportquantity setto “CRI-jointSINR,” And the UE can be configured with two Resourcesetting linked to that reporting setting. In each of these two Resourcesetting, CSI-RS resources or SS/PBCH blocks are configured for channelmeasurement.

For the above measurement and reporting embodiment, a UE can beconfigured with a Reporting setting with parameter Reportquantity set to“CRI-jointSINR.” And the UE can be configured with three Resourcesetting linked to that reporting setting. In each of first two Resourcesetting, CSI-RS resources or SS/PBCH blocks are configured for channelmeasurement. In a third resource setting, CSI-IM resource or CSI-RSresources can be configured for interference measurement.

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured to measure M (for example=16)Tx beams and then reports N (for example=4) selected Tx beam IDs andtheir corresponding L1-RSRQ (reference signal received quality). A UEcan be configured to measure M (for example=16) Tx beams and thenreports N (for example=4) selected Tx beam IDs and their correspondingL1-SINR (signal to interference and noise ratio).

A UE can be configured with a CSI-ReportConfig with the higher layerparameter reportQuantity set to “cri-RSRQ” or “SSBRI-RSRQ.” With thisconfiguration, the UE can be configured to measure M CSI-RS resources orSS/PBCH blocks and then the UE may report N CRI (CSI-RS resourceindicator) or SSBRI (SS/PBCH block resource indicator) and/or theL1-RSRQ measurement of the reported CRI or SSBRI. For L1-RSRQ basedmeasurement and reporting, the UE can be configured with one ResourceSetting for channel measurement for L1-RSRQ computation.

In one embodiment, the UE can report N selected CRIs (L1-SSBRIs) and thecorresponding RSRQ values. Examples of mapping order of CSI fields forone report of N=3 selected CRIs/SSBRIs and L1-RSRQ report are listed inTABLE 4 and TABLE 5.

TABLE 4 CSI report # CSI report number CSI fields CSI report #n CRI orSSBRI #1 CRI or SSBRI#2 CRI or SSBRI #3 RSRQ #1 RSRQ#2 RSRQ#3

TABLE 5 CSI report # CSI report number CSI fields CSI report #n CRI orSSBRI #1 RSRQ#1 CRI or SSBRI #2 RSRQ #2 CRI or SSBRI #3 RSRQ#3

The UE can use a N_(B)-bit to represent one RSRQ value.

In one embodiment, in a report with more than RSRQ values, the UE canreport absolute RSRQ value for the largest RSRQ value and differentialRSRQ for all the other reported RSRQ values. And the differential RSRQvalue is calculated with reference to the largest reported RSRQ value.In one embodiment, reported RSRQ and differential RSRQ can use differentbitwidth. For example, one RSRQ value use 6 bits and one differentialRSRQ value can use 4 bit. In one embodiment, reported RSRQ anddifferential RSRQ can use different step size. For example, one RSRQvalue use 0.5 dB as step size and one differential RSRQ value can use0.25 dB (or 1 dB) as step size. In one embodiment reported RSRQ anddifferential RSRQ can use same step size.

A UE can be configured with a CSI-ReportConfig with the higher layerparameter reportQuantity set to “cri-SINR” or “SSBRI-SINR.” With thisconfiguration, the UE can be configured to measure M CSI-RS resources orSS/PBCH blocks and then the UE may report N CRI (CSI-RS resourceindicator) or SSBRI (SS/PBCH block resource indicator) and/or theL1-SINR measurement of the reported CRI or SSBRI. For measuring L1-SINRfor beam measurement and reporting, there can exist the followingembodiments for different use cases and scenarios.

In one example, the UE can measure the SINR of each Tx beam with respectto the background interference and noise.

In another example, the UE can measure the SINR of one Tx beam withrespect to another Tx beam. One useful use case for this embodiment isthe multi-TRP case. The UE can find the best serving Tx beam with aninterfering Tx beam from another TRP.

In yet another example, the UE can measure the SINR of one Tx beam withrespect to multiple Tx beams. Then the UE can report the ID ofinterference beam that gives the best SINR.

In yet another example, the UE can measure the SINR of multiple Tx beamwith respect to one Tx beams. Then the UE can report the ID(s) of Txbeam(s) that gives the best SINR.

In yet another example, the UE can measure the SINR of multiple Tx beamsand for each Tx beam, one interfering beam is configured. Then the UEcan measure the L1-SINR of each Tx beam pair and then reports the bestone or multiple Tx beam with best L1-SINR.

In one embodiment, the UE can be configured with one Resource settingfor channel measurement for L1-SINR computation, which is linked to aCSI-ReportConfig with the higher layer parameter reportQuantity set to“cri-SINR” or “SSBRI-SINR.” In the Resource setting, there can be one ormore CSI-RS resource sets and in each CSI-RS resource set, there can beone or more CSI-RS resources and/or SS/PBCH blocks. For each configuredCSI-RS resource or SS/PBCH block, the UE may measure the SINR from theCSI-RS resource or SS/PBCH block itself. The UE can report one or moreCRI (CSI-RS resource indicator) or SSBRI and their corresponding SINRmeasurement.

In another embodiment, the UE can be configured with two resourcesetting for SINR computation, which are linked to CSI-ReportConfig withthe higher layer parameter reportQuantity set to “cri-SINR” or“SSBRI-SINR.” Among those two resource settings, the first one resourcesetting is for channel measurement the second one resource setting isfor interference measurement. In the second one resource setting, therecan be one or multiple CSI-IM (interference measurement) resources ornon-zero power CSI-RS resources. And each CSI-RS resource set in thefirst one resource setting is linked to one CSI-IM resource or onenon-zero power CSI-RS resource in the second one resource setting. Whenmeasuring SINR for one CRI or SSBRI, the UE may use the correspondingCSI-RS resource or SS/PBCH block in the first one Resource setting tomeasure the channel and the CSI-IM or CSI-RS resource in the second oneResource setting corresponding the CSI-RS resource set of the measuredCSI-RS resource or SS/PBCH block to measure the interference.

In another embodiment, the UE can be configured with two Resourcesetting for SINR computation, which are linked to CSI-ReportConfig withthe higher layer parameter reportQuantity set to “cri-SINR” or“SSBRI-SINR.” Among those two Resource settings, the first one ResourceSetting is for channel measurement the second one Resource setting isfor interference measurement. In the first one Resource setting, therecan be one or more CSI-RS resource sets and in each CSI-RS resource set,there can be one or more CSI-RS resources and/or SS/PBCH blocks. In thesecond one Resource setting, there can be one or more CSI-RS resourcesets and in each CSI-RS resource set, there can be one or more non-zeroCSI-RS resources and/or SS/PBCH blocks.

In this configuration, the UE may assume that the RS resources in thefirst Resource Setting and the RS resources in the second Resourcesetting are one-to-one associated. For example, the UE can assume thatthere may be one-to-one associated by the order of RS resourcesconfigured in the RS set in each Resource setting. The UE can berequested to use the one-to-one associated RS resource pair to measurethe SINR and report the CRI of CSI-RS resource (or SSBRI of SS/PBCH)used for channel measurement and the corresponding measured SINR. In oneexample, a UE is configured with the first Resource setting with a setof CSI-RS resource {CSI_RS1, CSI_RS2, . . . , CSI_RS8} for channelmeasurement and the second resource setting with a set of CSI-RSresources {CSI_RSi1, CSI_RSi2, . . . , CSI_RSi8} for interferencemeasurement and the UE is configured with reportQuantity set to“cri-SINR” linked to these two resource setting. Then the UE can measurethe SINRs of CSI_RS1 to CSI_RSi1, of CSI_RS2 to CSI_RSi2, . . . , and ofCSI_RS8 to CSI_RSi8. The UE can report one or more selected CRI and thecorresponding SINR values. The reported CRI is selected from the firstResource setting used for channel measurement.

In another embodiment, the UE can be configured to measure the SINR ofone CSI-RS resource (or a SS/PBCH block) with respect to theinterference measurement from multiple different CSI-RS resources. Thisembodiment is useful for the UE to find the best “companion” beam. TheUE can be configured with one CSI-RS resource CSI-RS_A for channelmeasurement and also configured with a set of CSI-RS resources{CSI-RSi1, CSI-RSi2, . . . , CSI-RSi8} for interference measurement.With this configuration, the UE can measure the SINR of CSI-RS_A toCSI-RSi1, of CSI_RS_A to CSI_RSi2, . . . , and CSI_RS_A to CSI_RSi8respectively. Then the UE can report the selected CRI from the set ofCSI-RS resources for interference measurement (i.e., from the set of{CSI-RSi1, CSI-RSi2, . . . , CSI-RSi8}) and the corresponding SINRmeasurement.

In one embodiment, the UE can report N selected CRIs (L1-SSBRIs) and thecorresponding L1-SINR values. Examples of mapping order of CSI fieldsfor one report of N=3 selected CRIs/SSBRIs and L1-SINR report are listedin TABLE 6 and TABLE 7.

TABLE 6 CSI report # CSI report number CSI fields CSI report #n CRI orSSBRI #1 CRI or SSBRI#2 CRI or SSBRI #3 SINR #1 SINR#2 SINR#3

TABLE 7 CSI report # CSI report number CSI fields CSI report #n CRI orSSBRI #1 SINR#1 CRI or SSBRI #2 SINR #2 CRI or SSBRI #3 SINR#3

The UE can use a N_(B)-bit to represent one SINR value.

In one embodiment, in a report with more than SINR values, the UE canreport absolute SINR value for the largest SINR value and differentialSINR for all the other reported SINR values. And the differential SINRvalue is calculated with reference to the largest reported SINR value.In one embodiment, reported SINR and differential SINR can use differentbitwidth. For example, one SINR value use 6 bits and one differentialSINR value can use 4 bit. In one embodiment, reported SINR anddifferential SINR can use different step size. For example, one SINRvalue use 0.5 dB as step size and one differential SINR value can use0.25 dB (or 1 dB) as step size. In one embodiment reported SINR anddifferential SINR can use same step size.

In one embodiment, the mapping of measured SINR quantity and reportedvalue can be defined in TABLE 8, where 0.5 dB step size is used:

TABLE 8 SINR Reported Measured SINR Value Value Unit SINR_00 SINR < 0 dBSINR_01   0 ≤ SINR < 0.5 dB SINR_02 0.5 ≤ SINR < 1   dB . . . . . . . .. SINR_60 29.5 ≤ SINR < 30   dB SINR_61 30 ≤ SINR dB

Another example of mapping of measured SINR quantity to reported valueis defined in TABLE 9, where 1 dB step size is used.

TABLE 9 SINR Reported Value Measured SINR Value Unit SINR_00 SINR < 0 dBSINR_01 0 ≤ SINR < 1 dB SINR_02 1 ≤ SINR < 2 dB . . . . . . . . .SINR_30 29 ≤ SINR < 30 dB SINR_31 30 ≤ SINR dB

In general, the gNB needs to inform one UE of which gNB Tx beam(s)is(are) used to transmit on downlink channels (PDCCH, PDSCH) so that theUE is able to use the correct UE Rx beam to receive and buffer thedownlink signals. In most the deployment cases, a gNB usually has moreantennas and more panels than a UE. Therefore, using uplink signal(e.g., SRS) to train the beam pair links would use less resources thanusing downlink signals (e.g., CSI-RS or SSB).

After beam pair link training, the gNB can indicate which beam pair linkmay be used for downlink transmission by signaling one or more SRSresources ID. The UE can figure out the Rx beam based on the signaledSRS resource IDs. For example, for a UE with beam correspondence, the UEcan use the Rx beam(s) that corresponds to the Tx beam(s) that are usedto transmit the SRS resources signaled by the gNB.

In 3GPP 5G specification, the parameter “spatial Rx parameter” (orcalled QCL type D) is used to indicate the Rx beam information for a UE.In one embodiment, a UE can be configured with one or multiple SRSresources as the spatial Rx parameter for a downlink transmission, PDCCHand/or PDSCH. When a UE is configured with one or more than one SRSresources as the spatial Rx parameter for a downlink transmission, theUE can be requested to receive the downlink transmission with thespatial domain receive filter(s) that is same to the spatial domaintransmit filter(s) used to transmit the indicated SRS resource(s). Whenone SRS resource is configured, that SRS resource can correspond to oneTx beam sent from one UE panel or one “composite” beam send frommultiple UE panels. Then the UE is able to calculate the correspondingRx beam based on the beam correspondence. When multiple SRS resourcesare configured as spatial Rx parameter, those SRS resources cancorrespond to multiple Tx beam sent from multiple different UE Txpanels. Then the UE is able to calculate the corresponding Rx beam basedon the beam correspondence of those UE panels.

In 3GPP 5G design, the spatial Rx parameter (or called QCL type D) isconfigured in parameter TCI-State (TCI stands for Transmissionconfiguration indicator). Each TCI-State contains parameters forconfiguring a quasi co-location relationship between one or two downlinkreference signals and the DM-RS port group of the PDSCH or PDCCH. In oneembodiment, each TCI-State can contain one or multiple SRS resource IDsfor QCL-type ID, i.e., the Spatial Rx parameter. When one UE isconfigured with a TCI-state for PDSCH transmission and the configuredTCI-state contains one or more SRS resource IDs for spatial Rxparameter, the UE may assume the DM-RS ports in the PDSCH transmissionare spatial quasi co-located with the indicated SRS resource(s)contained in the configured TCI-State. The UE can receive the PDSCH andDMRS with the spatial domain receive filter(s) same to transmit domainreceive filter(s) used to transmit the indicated SRS resource(s).

When one UE is configured with a TCI-state for PDCCH transmission andthe configured TCI-state contains one or more SRS resource IDs forspatial Rx parameter, the UE may assume the DM-RS ports in the PDCCHtransmission are spatial quasi co-located with the indicated SRSresource(s) contained in the configured TCI-State. The UE can receivethe PDCCH and DMRS with the spatial domain receive filter(s) same totransmit domain receive filter(s) used to transmit the indicated SRSresource(s).

In one embodiment, the SRS resources that can be configured as spatialRx parameters are the SRS resources used for UL beam management. Inother words, the SRS resource that can be configured as spatial Rxparameters are SRS resources in SRS resource sets with higher layerparameter SRS-SetUse being set to “BeamManagement.” For DM-RS of PDSCH,DM-RS of PDCCH or a CSI-RS resource, the UE can expect a TCI-Stateindicates one of the following quasi co-location type(s): “QCL-TypeA”with a CSI-RS resource in a NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet configured withhigher layer parameter trs-Info and, when applicable, “QCL-TypeD” with aSRS resource in an SRS resource set configured with higher layerparameter SRS-SetUse being set to “beamManagement.”

In one embodiment, a gNB system can use two or more TRPs to transmitmultiple data streams to one UE simultaneously. In one example, the gNBcan transmit a first codeword from a first TRP with one or more transmitlayers and a second codeword from a second TRP with one or more transmitlayers simultaneously on same time-frequency resources to a UE. The gNBcan transmit those two codewords on the same OFDM symbols in time domainand same PRBs in frequency domain. Such a mechanism is generally calledjoint transmission. If the precoding in those TRPs are not coherent.Then the transmission scheme is called non-coherent joint transmission(non-coherent JT). In mmWave system (it is called FR2 (frequency range2) in 3GPP specification), TRP is a multi-beam system and thus each TRPneeds select one from multiple available Tx beam for the transmission toa UE.

Particular for non-coherent JT scheme, some special requirement may berequired on the Tx beam selection of multiple TRPs that participate thenon-coherent JT transmission. The basic requirement is those Tx beamsused by multiple TRPs may be able to be received by the receiver UE onsame OFDM symbols. An example of non-coherent joint transmission fromtwo TRPs to one UE is shown in FIG. 22.

FIG. 22 illustrates an example multiple data streams 2200 from multipleTRPs according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodimentof the multiple data streams 2200 illustrated in FIG. 22 is forillustration only. FIG. 22 does not limit the scope of this disclosureto any particular implementation.

As shown in FIG. 22, TRP #1 701 and TRP #Z 702 use non-coherent JTtransmission to a UE-A 2203. The system works in FR2. Therefore, bothTRP #1 2201 and #2 2202 are multi-beam system. To receive non-coherentjoint transmission from two TRPs, the UE-A 2203 needs at least tworeceiver branches. One implementation example of UE-A 2203 can be theUE-A has 2 or more receive chains and each receive chain can beconnected with one antenna array (or called antenna panel and there canbe multiple antenna elements on one panel).

In FR2 system, the UE-A 2203 can also formulate multiple differentdirections on one antenna panel that is connected to one receiverbranch. As shown in FIG. 22, the UE-A 2203 has two receiver branches. Afirst receiver branch is connected with panel 1 where multiple Rx beamdirections can be formulated. And a second receiver branch is connectedwith panel 2 where multiple Rx beam directions can be formulated. Forthe joint transmission (including either non-coherent joint transmissionor coherent joint transmission) from TRP #1 2201 and TRP #2 2202 to theUE-A 2203. The Tx beam 711 used by TRP#1 2201 and the Tx beam 2212 usedby TRP#2 2212 must be able to be received the UE-A 2203 on the same OFDMsymbols, which is basic requirement for Tx beam selection for jointtransmission from multiple TRPs. There can be different implementationof Tx beam selection and UE reception embodiment to meet that basicrequirement. In a first example, the UE-A 2203 can use Rx beam 2221 of afirst receiver branch to receive the Tx beam 2211 of TRP #1 2201 and useRx beam 2222 of a second receiver branch to receive the Tx beam 2212 ofTRP#2 2202.

In a second example, the UE-A 2203 can use Rx beam 2221 of a firstreceiver branch to receive the Tx beam 2212 of TRP #2 2202 and use Rxbeam 2222 of a second receiver branch to receive the Tx beam 2211 ofTRP#1 2201. In a third example, the UE-A 2203 can use both Rx beam 2221and 2222 to receive Tx beam 2211 from TRP#1 2201 and use both Rx beam2221 and 2222 to receive Tx beam 2212 from TRP#2 2202.

In a forth example, the UE-A 2203 can use Rx beam 2221 of a firstreceiver branch to receive Tx beam 2211 from TRP #1 2201 and use both Rxbeam 2221 of a first branch and Rx beam 2222 of a second branch toreceive Tx beam 2202 from TRP #2 2212. One can observe that onecommonality of the above implementation example is the UE-A 2203 is ableto receive both Tx beam 2211 and Tx beam 2212 on the same OFDM symbol,i.e., one the same time unit.

As aforementioned, some mechanisms may be required for the UE-A tomeasure and report selected Tx beams and the reported beam informationmay enable the gNB to choose proper Tx beams of TRP #1 and TRP #2 thatcan meet the basic requirement for joint transmission.

In one embodiment, a UE can be requested to measure the quality ofmultiple Tx beams from one or multiple TRPs and then the UE can reportone or more Tx beams that can be received by one or a subset of UEreceiver branches. The UE can partitioned all his receiver branches intoa few subsets and each subset can contain one or more receive branches.Those partition subsets can be non-overlapped subset, in which noreceiver branch is allocated into more than one subsets.

FIG. 23A illustrates an example measurement 2300 for multiple-TRPsaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment ofthe measurement 2300 illustrated in FIG. 23A is for illustration only.FIG. 23A does not limit the scope of this disclosure to any particularimplementation.

FIG. 23A illustrates an example of UE measure and reporting Tx beamaccording to the embodiments in this disclosure. As shown in FIG. 23A, aUE 2301 is requested to measure multiple TRP Tx beams 2305 and thenreport some Tx beams that are selected as the “best” TRP Tx beamaccording to some metric. The UE 2301 has two receiver branches 2311 and2312. Each receiver branch is connected with a Rx antenna panel. The UE2301 can measure the L1-RSRP (reference signal received power) (orL1-RSRQ (reference signal received quality) or L1-SINR(signal-to-interference noise ratio)) of those Tx beams 2305 on eachreceiver branch.

And the UE 801 then can report one or multiple Tx beams of the largestL1-RSRP (or L1-RSRQ, or L1-SINR) received at Rx branch (receiver branch)1 2311, among all the Tx beams 2305, the UE 2301 can report one ormultiple Tx beams of the largest L1-RSRP (or L1-RSRQ or L1-SINR)received at Rx branch 2 2312, among the Tx beams 2305. The UE 2301 canreport the following information: {Tx beam ID i1/L1-RSRP of Tx beam IDi1, Tx beam ID i2/L1-RSRP of Tx beam ID i2} for Rx branch 1 2311,wherein the reported L1-RSRP of Tx beam ID i1 and i2 is the L1-RSRP ismeasured based on the combined signal from antenna elementscorresponding to Rx branch 1 2311; and/or {Tx beam ID j1/L1-RSRP of Txbeam ID j1, Tx beam ID j2/L1-RSRP of Tx beam ID j2} for Rx branch 22312, wherein the reported L1-RSRP of Tx beam ID j1 and j2 is theL1-RSRP is measured based on the combined signal from antenna elementscorresponding to Rx branches 2 2312.

In the aforementioned UE measurement and reporting, the metric L1-RSRPcan be replaced with L1-RSRQ or L1-SINR without changing the design ofthe embodiments. Based on the above beam reporting from the UE 801, theserving gNB can select proper Tx beam among 805 for the jointtransmission from two TRPs to the UE 2301 and the selected Tx beam canmeet the basic requirement.

FIG. 23B illustrates another example measurement 2350 for multiple-TRPsaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment ofthe measurement 2350 illustrated in FIG. 23B is for illustration only.FIG. 23B does not limit the scope of this disclosure to any particularimplementation.

FIG. 23B illustrates an example of UE measure and reporting Tx beamaccording to the embodiments in this disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 23B, a UE 2302 is requested to measure multiple TRP Txbeams 2306 and then report some Tx beams that are selected as the “best”TRP Tx beam according to some metric. The UE 2302 has three receiverbranches 2321, 2322, and 2323. Each receiver branch is connected with aRx antenna panel. The UE 2302 can measure the L1-RSRP (reference signalreceived power) (or L1-RSRQ (reference signal received quality) orL1-SINR (signal-to-interference noise ratio)) of those Tx beams 2306 oneach receiver branch or each subset of receiver branches.

In one example, the UE 2302 then can report one or multiple Tx beams ofthe largest L1-RSRP (or L1-RSRQ, or L1-SINR) received at Rx branch(receiver branch) 1 2321, among all the Tx beams 2306, the UE 2302 canreport one or multiple Tx beams of the largest L1-RSRP (or L1-RSRQ orL1-SINR) received at Rx branch 2 2322, among the Tx beams 2306 and theUE 2302 can report one or more Tx beams of largest L1-RSRP (or L1-RSRQor L1-SINR) received at Rx branch 3 2323. The UE 2302 can report thefollowing information: {Tx beam ID i1/L1-RSRP of Tx beam ID i1, Tx beamID i2/L1-RSRP of Tx beam ID i2} for Rx branch 1 2321, wherein thereported L1-RSRP of Tx beam ID i1 and i2 is the L1-RSRP is measuredbased on the combined signal from antenna elements corresponding to Rxbranch 1 2321; {Tx beam ID j1/L1-RSRP of Tx beam ID j1, Tx beam IDj2/L1-RSRP of Tx beam ID j2} for Rx branch 2 2322, wherein the reportedL1-RSRP of Tx beam ID j1 and j2 is the L1-RSRP is measured based on thecombined signal from antenna elements corresponding to Rx branches 22322; and/or {Tx beam ID k1/L1-RSRP of Tx beam ID k1, Tx beam IDk2/L1-RSRP of Tx beam ID k2} for Rx branch 3 2323, wherein the reportedL1-RSRP of Tx beam ID k1 and k2 is the L1-RSRP is measured based on thecombined signal from antenna elements corresponding to Rx branches 32323.

In the aforementioned measurement and reporting, the metric L1-RSRP canbe replaced with L1-RSRQ or L1-SINR without changing the design of theembodiments. Based on the above beam reporting from the UE 802, theserving gNB can select proper Tx beam among 2302 for the jointtransmission from up to three TRPs to the UE 2302 and the selected Txbeam can meet the basic requirement.

In one example, the UE 2302 can partition the Rx branches 2321, 2322,and 2323 into two subsets, a first subset containing Rx branch 1 2321and a second subset containing Rx branch 2 2322 and Rx branch 3 2323.Then the UE 2302 can report one or multiple Tx beams of the largestL1-RSRP received at a first subset of Rx branch, among all the Tx beams2306 and the UE 2302 can report one or multiple Tx beams of the largestL1-RSRP received at a second subset of Rx branches, among all the Txbeams 2306. The UE 2302 can report the following information: {Tx beamID a1/L1-RSRP of Tx beam ID a1, Tx beam ID a2/L1-RSRP of Tx beam ID a2}for a first subset containing Rx branch 1 2321, wherein the reportedL1-RSRP of Tx beam ID a1 and a2 is the L1-RSRP is measured based on thecombined signal from antenna elements corresponding to Rx branch 1 2321;and/or {Tx beam ID b1/L1-RSRP of Tx beam ID b1, Tx beam ID b2/L1-RSRP ofTx beam ID b2} for a second subset containing Rx branch 2 2322 and Rxbranch 3 2323, wherein the reported L1-RSRP of Tx beam ID b1 and b2 isthe L1-RSRP is measured based on the combined signal from antennaelements corresponding to Rx branch 2 2322 and Rx branch 3 2323.

In the aforementioned UE measurement and reporting, the metric L1-RSRPcan be replaced with L1-RSRQ or L1-SINR without changing the design ofthe embodiments. Based on the above beam reporting from the UE 2302, theserving gNB can select proper Tx beam among 2302 for the jointtransmission from up to two TRPs to the UE 2302 and the selected Tx beamcan meet the basic requirement.

With the aforementioned embodiments, some embodiments for design of beammeasurement and reporting may be provided. In the following embodiments,CSI-RS may be used as the reference signal example to explain the designof provided embodiments. In those embodiments, the CSI-RS can bereplaced with SS/PBCH block and the CRI (CSI-RS resource indicator) canbe replaced with SSBRI (SS/PBCH resource indicator) without changing thedesign of the embodiments.

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured to measure a set of K (forexample K can be >1) CSI-RS resources transmitted from the gNB, whereeach CSI-RS resource can represent one Tx beam of the gNB. The UE can berequested to report M≥1 groups of CRIs and N≥1 CRIs in each group. Ineach reported group, the UE can report N≥1 CRIs and each CRI canindicate one CSI-RS resource selected from the configured CSI-RSresource set. In each reported group, the UE can report the L1-RSRPmeasurement for each reported CRI and the L1-RSRP measurement ismeasured based on combined signal from antenna elements corresponding tothe UE receiver branch or the subset of receiver branches.

The UE can assign some one-to-one mapping between the reported group andthe subset of receiver branches. In one example, a UE can be configuredto measure a set of K=16 CSI-RS resources: {CSI_RS₁, CSI_RS₂, CSI_RS₃, .. . , CSI_RS₁₆} and then report M=2 groups of CRIs and N=4 CRIs in eachgroup and also report L1-RSRP measurement for each reported CRI.Therefore, the UE can measure the L1-RSRP those K CSI-RS resourcestransmitted from the gNB (from multiple TRPs or single TRP) and reportthe following information through uplink channel (for example in PUCCHor PUSCH) to the gNB.

In one example, the UE can be requested to report the following M=2groups of CRI and L1-RSRP: Group#1 in reporting: {(CRI₁₁, P₁₁), (CRI₁₂,P₁₂), (CRI₁₃, P₁₃), (CRI₁₄, P₁₄)}; and/or Group#2 in reporting: {(CRI₂₁,P₂₁), (CRI₂₂, P₂₂), (CRI₂₃, P₂₃), (CRI₂₄, P₂₄)}.

In one example, in the report, each CRI_(mn) (for m=1, 2 and n=1/2/3/4)can be a 4-bit value to indicate the selection of one CRI-RS resourcefrom the configured set of K CSI-RS resources.

In one example, in the report, each P_(mn) (for m=1, 2 and n=1/2/3/4)can be a (for example) 7-bit value to represent the L1-RSRP measurementof CSI-RS indicated by CRI_(mn) and the L1-RSRP measurement may bemeasured based on the signals received from the subset of UE receiverbranches (can be one receiver branches or multiple branches) thatcorresponds to the reporting group m=1 or 2.

Please note in the aforementioned embodiment, the L1-RSRP can bereplaced with L1-RSRQ or L1-SINR without changing the design of theembodiment. That implies the UE can be requested to report M≥1 groups ofN≥1 CRIs and the corresponding L1-RSRQ or L1-SINR measurement accordingto the aforementioned embodiments.

In one embodiment, a UE can be requested to measure K_(G) sets of CSI-RSresources and K_(k) CSI-RS resources are in each set k. Those CSI-RSresources are transmitted from the gNB, where each CSI-RS resource canrepresent one Tx beam of gNB. The UE can be requested to report M≥1groups of CRIs and in each reporting group, the UE can be requested toreport N≥1 CRIs from each configured CSI-RS resource set. In eachreporting grouping, the UE is requested to report totally N×K_(G) CRIs.The UE can be requested to report L1-RSRP measurement of each reportedCRIs and each L1-RSRP measurement is measured based on the signaledreceived by a subset of receiver branch that corresponds to thereporting group where that L1-RSRP belongs to.

The UE can assign some one-to-one mapping between the reported group andthe subset of receiver branches. In one example, a UE can be configuredto measure a two sets of K=16 CSI-RS resources: a first set of CSI-RSresources is {CSI_RS_(1,1), CSI_RS_(1,2), CSI_RS_(1,3), . . . ,CSI_RS_(1,16)} and a second set of CSI-RS resources is {CSI_RS_(2,1),CSI_RS_(2,2), CSI_RS_(2,3), . . . , CSI_RS_(2,16)}. The UE is requestedto report M=2 groups of CRIs and in each reporting group, the UE isrequested to report N=4 CRIs for each configured CSI-RS resource set.

The UE can also report L1-RSRP measurement for each reported CRI.Therefore, the UE can measure the L1-RSRP of those K CSI-RS resources ineach of those two configured CSI-RS resource sets transmitted from thegNB (from multiple TRPs or single TRP) and report the followinginformation through uplink channel (for example in PUCCH or PUSCH) tothe gNB.

In one example, the UE can be requested to report the following M=2groups of CRI and L1-RSRP: Group#1 in reporting:

$\begin{Bmatrix}{\left( {{CRI}_{11},P_{11}} \right),\left( {{CRI}_{12},P_{12}} \right),\left( {{CRI}_{13},P_{13}} \right),\left( {{CRI}_{14},P_{14}} \right),} \\{\left( {{CRI}_{15},P_{15}} \right),\left( {{CRI}_{16},P_{16}} \right),\left( {{CRI}_{17},P_{17}} \right),\left( {{CRI}_{18},P_{18}} \right)}\end{Bmatrix};$

and Group#2 in reporting:

$\begin{Bmatrix}{\left( {{CRI}_{21},P_{21}} \right),\left( {{CRI}_{22},P_{22}} \right),\left( {{CRI}_{23},P_{23}} \right),\left( {{CRI}_{24},P_{24}} \right),} \\{\left( {{CRI}_{25},P_{25}} \right),\left( {{CRI}_{26},P_{26}} \right),\left( {{CRI}_{27},P_{27}} \right),\left( {{CRI}_{28},P_{28}} \right)}\end{Bmatrix}.$

In one example, in the report, each CRI_(mn) (for m=1, 2 and n=1/2/3/4)can be a 4-bit value to indicate the selection of one CRI-RS resourcefrom the configured a first set of 16 CSI-RS resources: {CSI_RS_(1,1),CSI_RS_(1,2), CSI_RS_(1,3), . . . , CSI_RS_(1,16)}.

In one example, in the report, each CRI_(mn) (for m=1, 2 and n=5/6/7/8)can be a 4-bit value to indicate the selection of one CRI-RS resourcefrom the configured a first set of 16 CSI-RS resources: {CSI_RS_(2,1),CSI_RS_(2,2), CSI_RS_(2,3), CSI_RS_(2,16)}.

In one example, in the report, each P_(mn) (for m=1, 2 andn=1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8) can be a (for example) 7-bit value to represent theL1-RSRP measurement of CSI-RS indicated by CRI_(mn) and the L1-RSRPmeasurement may be measured based on the signals received from thesubset of UE receiver branches (can be one receiver branches or multiplebranches) that corresponds to the reporting group m=1 or 2.

Please note in a second embodiment, the L1-RSRP can be replaced withL1-RSRQ or L1-SINR without changing the design of the embodiment. Thatimplies the UE can be requested to report M≥1 groups of N≥1 CRIsselected from each configured CSI-RS resource set and the correspondingL1-RSRQ or L1-SINR measurement according to the aforementionedembodiments.

In the aforementioned embodiments, one alternative for the configurationis the UE can be configured with a set of CSI-RS resources and thoseCSI-RS resources are partitioned into K_(G) sub-sets. The UE can berequested to report M≥1 groups of CRIs and in each reporting group, theUE can be requested to report N≥1 CRIs from each configured CSI-RSresource sub-set.

In the aforementioned embodiment, one alternative for the configurationis the UE can be configured with K_(G) resource settings and one CSI-RSresource set in each of those resource setting is configured. The UE canbe requested to report M≥1 groups of CRIs and in each reporting group,the UE can be requested to report N≥1 CRIs from the CSI-RS resource setconfigured in each of those K_(G) resource settings.

In one embodiment, a UE can be requested to measure K_(G) sets of CSI-RSresources and K_(k) CSI-RS resources are in each set k. Those CSI-RSresources are transmitted from the gNB, where each CSI-RS resource canrepresent one Tx beam of gNB. The UE can be requested to report M≥1groups of CRIs and in each reporting group, the UE can be requested toreport N≥1 CRIs from each configured CSI-RS resource set. In eachreporting grouping, the UE is requested to report totally N×K_(G) CRIs.The UE can be requested to report L1-RSRP measurement of each reportedCRIs and each L1-RSRP measurement is measured based on the signaledreceived by a subset of receiver branch that corresponds to thereporting group where that L1-RSRP belongs to. The UE can assign someone-to-one mapping between the reported group and the subset of receiverbranches. The UE can be requested to determine the number of reportinggroup according to the number of configured CSI-RS resource set. In oneexample, the UE can be requested to determine the number of reportinggroup is equal to the number of configured CSI-RS resource sets.

In one embodiment, a UE can be requested to measure the quality ofmultiple Tx beams from one or multiple TRPs and then the UE can reportone or more Tx beams selected from the Tx beams of different TRPs andthose selected Tx beams can be used by the gNB to transmit downlinksignals on the same OFDM symbols. In other words, the gNB can assumethose Tx beam selected by the UE can be received simultaneously by theUE. In other word, the UE can be requested to report one or more Txbeams selected by the UE to the gNB and the gNB can assume the gNB canuse apply the reported Tx beams on the downlink transmission on sametime resource, for example, on same OFDM symbol.

FIG. 24 illustrates an example measurement 2400 for multiple-TRPsaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment ofthe measurement 2400 illustrated in FIG. 24 is for illustration only.FIG. 24 does not limit the scope of this disclosure to any particularimplementation.

That provided embodiment is useful for supporting some downlinkjoint-transmission from multiple TRP in FR2 systems. As illustrated inFIG. 24, a UE-A 2401 can be requested to measure multiple downlink Txbeams of TRP#1 2402 and TRP #1 2403. The UE-A 2401 can be requested toreport Tx beam for each TRP so that the gNB can apply the reported Txbeam on joint transmission from TRP #1 2402 and TRP #2 2403.

As shown in FIG. 24, the UE-A 2401 has two receiver branches: Rx branch1 2421 and Rx branch 2 2422. One the antenna panel connected to each Rxbranch, the UE-A has one or multiple available Rx beam directions. TheUE-A 2401 can report downlink Tx beam 2411 and downlink Tx beam 2412according to the configuration. With the reporting, the gNB can assumethe gNB can apply Tx beam 2411 and 2412 to downlink transmission on sametime resource, i.e., same OFDM symbols.

At the UE side, the UE-A 2401 can receive the downlink transmissionbeamformed with both Tx beam 2411 and 2412 on the same OFDM symbols.That means that the UE-A 2401 can formulate the Rx beams that correspondto Tx beam 2411 and 2412 simultaneously. There are a few differentimplementation alternatives that can achieve that. One example of UEimplementation is the UE-A 2401 can use Rx beam 2431 on Rx branch 1 2421to receive the downlink signals being beamformed by Tx beam 2411 and useRx beam 2432 on Rx branch 2 2422 to receive the downlink signals beingbeamformed by Tx beam 2412.

Another example of UE implementation is the UE-A 2401 can use Rx beam2431 on Rx branch 1 2421 and Rx beam 2432 on Rx branch 2 2422 to receivethe downlink signals being beamformed by Tx beam 2411 and use Rx beam2432 on Rx branch 2 2422 to receive the downlink signals beingbeamformed by Tx beam 2412. Another example of UE implementation is theUE-A 2401 can use Rx beam 2431 on Rx branch 1 2421 and Rx beam 2432 onRx branch 2 2422 to receive the downlink signals being beamformed by Txbeam 2411 and use Rx beam 2431 on Rx branch 1 2411 and Rx beam 2432 onRx branch 2 2422 to receive the downlink signals being beamformed by Txbeam 2412.

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured to measure two sets of CSI-RSresources: a first set of CSI-RS resources is {CSI_RS_(1,1),CSI_RS_(1,2), CSI_RS_(1,3), . . . , CSI_RS_(1,P)} and a second set ofCSI-RS resources is {CSI_RS_(2,1), CSI_RS_(2,2), CSI_RS_(2,3), . . . ,CSI_RS_(2,Q)}. The UE can be requested to report one pair of CRIs:{CRI_(a), CRI_(b)}, where CRI_(a) is a CSI resource indicator thatindicates one CSI-RS resource in a first set of CSI-RS resources andCRI_(B) is a CSI resource indicator that indicates one CSI-RS resourcein a second set of CSI-RS resources. The UE can also report the L1-RSRPof CSI-RS resources indicated by the reported CRIs: {CRI_(a), CRI_(b)},and the reported L1-RSRP may be L1-RSRP measured by assuming the CSI-RSresources indicated by reported CRI_(a) and CRI_(b) are transmitted onesame OFDM symbols. In one example, a UE can be configured to measure twosets of CSI-RS resources: a first set of CSI-RS resources is{CSI_RS_(1,1), CSI_RS_(1,2), CSI_RS_(1,3), . . . , CSI_RS_(1,16)} and asecond set of CSI-RS resources is {CSI_RS_(2,1), CSI_RS_(2,2),CSI_RS_(2,3), . . . , CSI_RS_(2,16)}.

In one example, the UE can report M=2 pairs of CRIs and L1-RSRPmeasurement: a first pair is {CRI_(a1), P_(a1), CRI_(b1), P_(b1)} and asecond pair is {CRI_(a2), P_(a2), CRI_(b2), P_(b2)}. In such example,where in a first pair, CRI_(a1) is an indicator that indicates oneCSI-RS resource in a first set of CSI-RS resources and CRI_(b1) is anindicator that indicates one CSI-RS resource in a second set of CSI-RSresources. P_(a1) is the L1-RSRP measured from CSI-RS resource indicatedby CRI_(a1) and P_(b1) is the L1-RSRP measured from CSI-RS resourceindicated by CRI_(b1) and P_(a1) and P_(b1) are measured by assuming theCSI-RS resources indicated by CRI_(a1) and CRI_(b1) are sent on sameOFDM symbol. In such example, where in a first pair, CRI_(a2) is anindicator that indicates one CSI-RS resource in a first set of CSI-RSresources and CRI_(b2) is an indicator that indicates one CSI-RSresource in a second set of CSI-RS resources. P_(a2) is the L1-RSRPmeasured from CSI-RS resource indicated by CRI_(a2) and P_(b2) is theL1-RSRP measured from CSI-RS resource indicated by CRI_(b2) and P_(a2)and P_(b2) are measured by assuming the CSI-RS resources indicated byCRI_(a2) and CRI_(b2) are sent on same OFDM symbol.

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured to measure two sets of CSI-RSresources: a first set of CSI-RS resources is {CSI_RS_(L1),CSI_RS_(1,2), CSI_RS_(1,3), . . . , CSI_RS_(1,P)} and a second set ofCSI-RS resources is {CSI_RS_(2,1), CSI_RS_(2,2), CSI_RS_(2,3), . . . ,CSI_RS_(2,Q)}. The UE can be requested to report one pair of CRIs:{CRI_(a), CRI_(b)}, where CRI_(a) is a CSI resource indicator thatindicates one CSI-RS resource in a first set of CSI-RS resources andCRI_(b) is a CSI resource indicator that indicates one CSI-RS resourcein a second set of CSI-RS resources. The UE can also report the L1-RSRPof CSI-RS resources indicated by the reported CRIs: {CRI_(a), CRI_(b)},and the reported L1-RSRP may be L1-RSRP measured with the same UE Rxbeams (or called same spatial domain receiver filter).

In other word, the reported L1-RSRP of CSI-RS resources indicated byreported CRIs: {CRI_(a), CRI_(b)} may be measured based on the signalfrom antenna elements corresponding to the same subset of receiverbranches and based on the same spatial domain receive filter on antennaelements on every of those receiver branches. In one example, a UE canbe configured to measure two sets of CSI-RS resources: a first set ofCSI-RS resources is {CSI_RS_(1,1), CSI_RS_(1,2), CSI_RS_(1,3), . . . ,CSI_RS_(1,16)} and a second set of CSI-RS resources is {CSI_RS_(2,1),CSI_RS_(2,2), CSI_RS_(2,3), . . . , CSI_RS_(2,16)}.

In one example, the UE can report M=2 pairs of CRIs and L1-RSRPmeasurement: a first pair is {CRI_(a1), P_(a1), CRI_(b1), P_(b1)} and asecond pair is {CRI_(a2), P_(b2), CRI_(b2), P_(b2)}. In such example,where in a first pair, CRI_(a1) is an indicator that indicates oneCSI-RS resource in a first set of CSI-RS resources and CRI_(b1) is anindicator that indicates one CSI-RS resource in a second set of CSI-RSresources. P_(a1) is the L1-RSRP measured from CSI-RS resource indicatedby CRI_(a1) and P_(b1) is the L1-RSRP measured from CSI-RS resourceindicated by CRI_(b1) and P_(a1) and P_(b1) are measured based on thesignals received with the same subset of receiver branches and samespatial domain receiver filter is applied on the antenna elements oneach receiver branches for measuring both P_(a1) and P_(b1). In suchexample, where in a first pair, CRI_(a2) is an indicator that indicatesone CSI-RS resource in a first set of CSI-RS resources and CRI_(b2) isan indicator that indicates one CSI-RS resource in a second set ofCSI-RS resources. P_(a2) is the L1-RSRP measured from CSI-RS resourceindicated by CRI_(a2) and P_(b2) is the L1-RSRP measured from CSI-RSresource indicated by CRI_(b2) and P_(a2) and P_(b2) are measured basedon the signals received with the same subset of receiver branches andsame spatial domain receiver filter is applied on the antenna elementson each receiver branches for measuring both P_(a2) and P_(b2).

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured with two sets of CSI-RSresources a first set of CSI-RS resources is {CSI_RS_(1,1),CSI_RS_(1,2), CSI_RS_(1,3), . . . CSI_RS_(1,P)} and a second set ofCSI-RS resources is {CSI_RS_(2,1), CSI_RS_(2,2), CSI_RS_(2,3), . . . ,CSI_RS_(2,Q)} in one resource setting and a reporting setting thatindicates the UE to report M≥1 pairs of CRIs for joint transmission frommultiple TRPs. Then the UE can report one M pairs of CRIs and in eachpair, one CRI indicates one CSI-RS resource in a first set of CSI-RSresources and another CRI indicates one CSI-RS resources in a second setof CSI-RS resources. In one example, a UE can be configured to measuretwo sets of CSI-RS resources: a first set of CSI-RS resources is{CSI_RS_(1,1), CSI_RS_(1,2), CSI_RS_(1,3), . . . , CSI_RS_(1,16)} and asecond set of CSI-RS resources is {CSI_RS_(2,1), CSI_RS_(2,2),CSI_RS_(2,3), . . . , CSI_RS_(2,16)} in a resource setting and theresource setting is linked with a reporting setting.

In the reporting setting, the UE is configured one high layer parameter,reportQuantity, set to “CRI/RSRP for JT” to indicate that the UE mayreport CRIs/L1-RSRPs for downlink joint transmission (includingnon-coherent joint transmission) and the UE is configured to report M=2pairs of CRIs and L1-RSRPs. The UE can report M=2 pairs of CRIs andL1-RSRP measurement: a first pair is {CRI_(a1), P_(a1), CRI_(b1),P_(b1)} and a second pair is {CRI_(a2), P_(b2), CRI_(b2), P_(b2)}.

Please note in the above embodiments, the L1-RSRP can be replaced withL1-RSRQ or L1-SINR without changing the design of the embodiment. Thatimplies the UE can be requested to report M≥1 pairs of N≥1 CRIs selectedfrom each configured CSI-RS resource set and the corresponding L1-RSRQor L1-SINR measurement according to the aforementioned embodiments.

In the aforementioned embodiments, one alternative for the configurationis the UE can be configured with a set of CSI-RS resources and thoseCSI-RS resources are partitioned into K_(G) sub-sets. The UE can berequested to report M≥1 groups of CRIs and in each reporting group, theUE can be requested to report N≥1 CRIs from each configured CSI-RSresource sub-set.

In the aforementioned embodiments, one alternative for the configurationis the UE can be configured with K_(G) resource settings and one CSI-RSresource set in each of those resource setting is configured. The UE canbe requested to report M≥1 groups of CRIs and in each reporting group,the UE can be requested to report N≥1 CRIs from the CSI-RS resource setconfigured in each of those K_(G) resource settings.

FIG. 25 illustrates a flowchart of a method 2500 for beam management, asmay be performed by a user equipment (UE) (e.g., 111-116 as illustratedin FIG. 1), according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Theembodiment of the method 2500 illustrated in FIG. 25 is for illustrationonly. FIG. 25 does not limit the scope of this disclosure to anyparticular implementation.

As illustrated in FIG. 25, the method 2500 begins at step 2505. In step2505, the UE receives, from multiple transmission reception points(TRPs), downlink data transmissions.

In one embodiment, the UE in step 2505 receives a control resource setand a search space to monitor downlink control channels and higher layersignaling that configures the multiple TCI states and a monitoringpattern for monitoring the downlink control channels associated with thecontrol resource set.

In step 2510, the UE receives downlink control information (DCI) thatincludes a beam indication configuration comprising a one bit-field thatindicates multiple transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states. Instep 2510, the multiple TCI states indicate a quasi-colocation (QCL)configuration for downlink data channels received from the TRPs.

In one embodiment, each value of the one bit-field corresponds to one ortwo TCI states.

In step 2515, the UE determines indices of the multiple TCI states basedon the received one bit-field included in the DCI.

In one embodiment, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) antenna portassociated with a reception of a first codeword in the downlink datatransmission is quasi co-located with reference signals configured in afirst TCI state.

In another embodiment, a DMRS antenna port associated with a receptionof a second codeword in the downlink data transmission is quasico-located with reference signals configured in a second TCI state.

In step 2520, the UE derives an association between the multiple TCIstates indicated by the one bit-field and a downlink data transmissionof each of the TRPs.

In step 2525, the UE receives the downlink data transmission from eachof the TRPs with the QCL configuration indicated by the derivedassociation.

In one embodiment, the UE in step 2525 calculates one or more TCI statesfor a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) detection occasion basedon the configured multiple TCI states and the monitoring pattern and aQCL configuration for each of the multiple TCI states to receive thedownlink control channels.

In one embodiment, each of the multiple TCI states is swept acrosssymbols within the control resource set. In such embodiment, a number ofconsecutive symbols within the control resource set is configured by thehigher layer signaling and the QCL configuration is configured for eachof the symbols.

FIG. 26 illustrates a flowchart of a method 2600 for beam management, asmay be performed by a TRP (e.g., 101-103 as illustrated in FIG. 1),according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment ofthe method 2600 illustrated in FIG. 26 is for illustration only. FIG. 26does not limit the scope of this disclosure to any particularimplementation.

As illustrated in FIG. 26, the method 2600 begins at step 2605. In step2605, the TRP determines indices of multiple transmission configurationindicator (TCI) states based on a one bit-field to be transmitted to auser equipment (UE). In step 2605, the one bit-field is included indownlink control information (DCI).

In one embodiment, each value of the one bit-field in step 2605corresponds to one or two TCI states.

In one embodiment, the TRP transmits a control resource set and a searchspace to monitor downlink control channels and higher layer signalingthat configures the multiple TCI states and a monitoring pattern formonitoring the downlink control channels associated with the controlresource set.

In one embodiment, the TRP determines one or more TCI states for aphysical downlink control channel (PDCCH) detection occasion based onthe configured multiple TCI states and the monitoring pattern.

In step 2610, the TRP transmits, to the UE, a downlink datatransmission.

In one embodiment, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) antenna portassociated with a reception of a first codeword in the downlink datatransmission is quasi co-located with reference signals configured in afirst TCI state.

In one embodiment, a DMRS antenna port associated with a reception of asecond codeword in the downlink data transmission is quasi co-locatedwith reference signals configured in a second TCI state.

In step 2615, the TRP transmits the DCI that includes a beam indicationconfiguration comprising the one bit-field that indicates the multipleTCI states. In step 2615, the multiple TCI states indicate aquasi-colocation (QCL) configuration for a downlink data channeltransmitted to the UE.

In one embodiment, the TRP determines a QCL configuration for each ofthe multiple TCI states to transmit the downlink control channels.

In step 2620, the TRP transmits, to the UE, the downlink datatransmission with the QCL configuration, wherein an association betweenthe multiple TCI states indicated by the one bit-field and the downlinkdata transmission from the TRP is derived by the UE.

In one embodiment, each of the multiple TCI states is swept acrosssymbols within the control resource set. In such embodiment, a number ofconsecutive symbols within the control resource set is configured by thehigher layer signaling and the QCL configuration is configured for eachof the symbols.

Although the present disclosure has been described with an exemplaryembodiment, various changes and modifications may be suggested to oneskilled in the art. It is intended that the present disclosure encompasssuch changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appendedclaims.

None of the description in this application should be read as implyingthat any particular element, step, or function is an essential elementthat must be included in the claims scope. The scope of patented subjectmatter is defined only by the claims. Moreover, none of the claims areintended to invoke 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) unless the exact words “means for”are followed by a participle.

What is claimed is:
 1. A user equipment (UE) for a beam indication in awireless communication system, the UE comprising: a transceiverconfigured to: receive, from multiple transmission reception points(TRPs), downlink data transmissions; and receive downlink controlinformation (DCI) that includes a beam indication configurationcomprising a one bit-field that indicates multiple transmissionconfiguration indicator (TCI) states, wherein the multiple TCI statesindicate a quasi-colocation (QCL) configuration for downlink datachannels received from the TRPs; a processor operably connected to thetransceiver, the processor configured to: determine indices of themultiple TCI states based on the received one bit-field included in theDCI; and derive an association between the multiple TCI states indicatedby the one bit-field and a downlink data transmission of each of theTRPs, wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive, thedownlink data transmission from each of the TRPs with the QCLconfiguration indicated by the derived association.
 2. The UE of claim1, wherein each value of the one bit-field corresponds to one or two TCIstates.
 3. The UE of claim 2, wherein: a demodulation reference signal(DMRS) antenna port associated with a reception of a first codeword inthe downlink data transmission is quasi co-located with referencesignals configured in a first TCI state; and a DMRS antenna portassociated with a reception of a second codeword in the downlink datatransmission is quasi co-located with reference signals configured in asecond TCI state.
 4. The UE of claim 1, wherein the transceiver isfurther configured to: receive a control resource set and a search spaceto monitor downlink control channels; and receive higher layer signalingthat configures the multiple TCI states and a monitoring pattern formonitoring the downlink control channels associated with the controlresource set.
 5. The UE of claim 4, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to calculate one or more TCI states for a physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) detection occasion based on the configuredmultiple TCI states and monitoring pattern.
 6. The UE of claim 5,wherein the processor is further configured to calculate a QCLconfiguration for each of the multiple TCI states to receive thedownlink control channels.
 7. The UE of claim 6, wherein each of themultiple TCI states is swept across symbols within the control resourceset, and wherein a number of consecutive symbols within the controlresource set is configured by the higher layer signaling and the QCLconfiguration is configured for each of the symbols.
 8. A transmissionreception point (TRP), for a beam indication in a wireless communicationsystem, the BS comprising: a processor configured to determine indicesof multiple transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states based on aone bit-field to be transmitted to a user equipment (UE), wherein theone bit-field is included in downlink control information (DCI); and atransceiver operably connected to the processor, the transceiver isconfigured to: transmit, to the UE, a downlink data transmission,transmit the DCI that includes a beam indication configurationcomprising the one bit-field that indicates the multiple TCI states,wherein the multiple TCI states indicate a quasi-colocation (QCL)configuration for a downlink data channel transmitted to the UE, andtransmit, to the UE, the downlink data transmission with the QCLconfiguration, wherein an association between the multiple TCI statesindicated by the one bit-field and the downlink data transmission fromthe TRP is derived by the UE.
 9. The TRP of claim 8, wherein each valueof the one bit-field corresponds to one or two TCI states.
 10. The TRPof claim 9, wherein: a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) antenna portassociated with a reception of a first codeword in the downlink datatransmission is quasi co-located with reference signals configured in afirst TCI state; and a DMRS antenna port associated with a reception ofa second codeword in the downlink data transmission is quasi co-locatedwith reference signals configured in a second TCI state.
 11. The TRP ofclaim 8, wherein the transceiver is further configured to: transmit acontrol resource set and a search space to monitor downlink controlchannels; and transmit higher layer signaling that configures themultiple TCI states and a monitoring pattern for monitoring the downlinkcontrol channels associated with the control resource set.
 12. The TRPof claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to determineone or more TCI states for a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)detection occasion based on the configured multiple TCI states and themonitoring pattern.
 13. The TRP of claim 12, wherein the processor isfurther configured to determine a QCL configuration for each of themultiple TCI states to transmit the downlink control channels.
 14. TheTRP of claim 13, wherein each of the multiple TCI states is swept acrosssymbols within the control resource set, and wherein a number ofconsecutive symbols within the control resource set is configured by thehigher layer signaling and the QCL configuration is configured for eachof the symbols.
 15. A method of a user equipment (UE) for a beamindication in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:receiving, from multiple transmission reception points (TRPs), downlinkdata transmissions; receiving downlink control information (DCI) thatincludes a beam indication configuration comprising a one bit-field thatindicates multiple transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states,wherein the multiple TCI states indicate a quasi-colocation (QCL)configuration for downlink data channels received from the TRPs;determining indices of the multiple TCI states based on the received onebit-field included in the DCI; deriving an association between themultiple TCI states indicated by the one bit-field and a downlink datatransmission of each of the TRPs; and receiving the downlink datatransmission from each of the TRPs with the QCL configuration indicatedby the derived association.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein eachvalue of the one bit-field corresponds to one or two TCI states.
 17. Themethod of claim 16, wherein: a demodulation reference signal (DMRS)antenna port associated with a reception of a first codeword in thedownlink data transmission is quasi co-located with reference signalsconfigured in a first TCI state; and a DMRS antenna port associated witha reception of a second codeword in the downlink data transmission isquasi co-located with reference signals configured in a second TCIstate.
 18. The method of claim 15, further comprising: receiving acontrol resource set and a search space to monitor downlink controlchannels; and receiving higher layer signaling that configures themultiple TCI states and a monitoring pattern for monitoring the downlinkcontrol channels associated with the control resource set.
 19. Themethod of claim 18, further comprising: calculating one or more TCIstates for a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) detectionoccasion based on the configured multiple TCI states and the monitoringpattern; and calculating a QCL configuration for each of the multipleTCI states to receive the downlink control channels.
 20. The method ofclaim 19, wherein each of the multiple TCI states is swept acrosssymbols within the control resource set, and wherein a number ofconsecutive symbols within the control resource set is configured by thehigher layer signaling and the QCL configuration is configured for eachof the symbols.